


I Am Not Iron Man

by Pdxtrent



Series: A Spark of Stark [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: (how is there already a tag for that?), Background or pre-slash Sterek, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Derek Hale is Not a Failwolf, Gen, M/M, Secret heirs, Stiles Stilinski is a Stark, Stiles and Steve Rogers would be Bros, kick ass Lydia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:41:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22555756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pdxtrent/pseuds/Pdxtrent
Summary: Tony Stark and Pepper Potts have gone missing, which leaves Stark Industries and the fate of Iron Man in the hand of 17 year old Stiles Stilinski.
Relationships: Derek Hale & Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Lydia Martin & Stiles Stilinski, Phil Coulson & Stiles Stilinski, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski, Stiles Stilinski & Avengers Team, Stiles Stilinski & Steve Rogers
Series: A Spark of Stark [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2127177
Comments: 478
Kudos: 1089





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I’m 110% blaming this on my cousin who asked for a Lydia Martin and Jessica Jones crossover. And the brainstorming of which made me think about Stiles and Tony meeting (and hating each other).  
> This won’t be updated on any schedule. I have like 4 other things I should be working on. But it was an idea that just took legs on me.  
> Feel free to ask questions in the comments. To be honest answering questions on this might help me figure out just where it’s going, and honestly, comments motivate me to keep writing.
> 
> As always, much thanks for my beta reader snowqueenlou who makes it all much better. Not just the grammar, but also the story. Thank you!!

Wednesday 

  
Stiles took another breath and concentrated on trying to hold back the sense of doomed panic that had been constant for the last year since the nogitsune. He let his breath out slowly. It didn’t really help. Nothing did, but maybe it helped a little. He kept at it at any rate. He was just preparing to take another breath when the doorbell rang, and he jerked and rolled off the couch onto the floor. 

“Ow fuck,” he said heatedly, and pulled himself back up and staggered to the door. He glanced through the peephole to see a man in a suit wearing glasses. He opened the door cautiously. “Yes?”

“Stiles Stilinski?” the man asked politely. 

“Yes.”

“I’m agent Coulson of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, do you have a moment I can come in and talk to you?” 

“Are you sure you’re not looking for my dad, he’s the sheriff.” 

“I know who your dad is, Mr Stilinski. I’m here to see you.” 

“Is this about the FBI program? Because I just sent in that packet.” 

“No. I’m here on a private and highly confidential matter. Can I please come in?” 

Stiles hesitated for a moment before opening the door. “Come in I guess.” He pulled out his phone and shot his dad a quick text with the agent’s name and affiliation. He wasn’t sure what this was about, but if something went wrong he wanted his dad to know where to start looking.

He led the agent to the dining room and offered him a drink which he declined. After they sat down he just looked at the agent before finally saying, “So how can I help you?” 

“First I want to make sure you understand that what we’re about to talk about is extremely sensitive. I wouldn’t be here if circumstances were any different.” 

“Okay. Well, I guess I can keep a secret.” 

“I hope so.” Agent Coulson looked at him for a moment then said, “About a week ago Tony Stark went missing somewhere over North Dakota.” 

Stiles blinked and narrowed his eyes. “Okay?” 

“Ms Potts was with him.” 

Stiles gave the agent a blank look. “That’s terrible. I hope you find them?” Stiles gave a half shrug, “I’m not sure what this has to do with me?” 

The agent gave him a fixed stare. 

Stiles stared back. He was just opening his mouth when two things happened. First, he heard the house phone ring, a sound he hadn’t actually heard in a week. Second, he heard his dad's cruiser pull into the yard.

“Hold on,” he said to the agent, and went into the kitchen to answer the phone. “Hello?” hesaid. 

“Stiles!” his dad said. 

“Dad, I just heard your car,” he started moving toward the window. “What’s-“ 

“Hold on, I’m coming in,” his dad said, and hung up. Before he even got the phone back on the hook, his dad was coming through the door. 

“Hey dad, this is agent Coulson with the Supreme Headquarters something or other. Agent Coulson, Sheriff Stilinski.” 

“Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division,” the agent said, “and it’s nice to meet you sheriff, I think you met my boss, Director Fury, a few years ago.” 

“I did. Back when Claudia was still alive.” 

“My condolences.” 

“Thank you. Do you mind if I ask why you’re here? Has something come up?” 

“As I was just telling Stiles, last Monday Tony Stark and Ms Potts went missing somewhere over North Dakota. The jet disappeared from radar and Mr Stark's AI lost contact at the same time, but no wreckage has been found. There’s been perimeter security on your family ever since, but no unusual activity has been observed.” 

“Can we go back to I’m not really sure what’s going on here?” 

Agent Coulson looked at Stiles and then his dad. “He doesn’t know?” 

“No, when Claudia died the decision was made by SHIELD and Stark to wait til he was 18.” 

“That wasn’t in my notes.” 

“I’m pretty sure it was mostly Claudia and Stark actually who made the decision.” 

“What decision?” Stiles asked, his anxiety spiking.

His dad looked at him, the worry obvious in his eyes, and the set of his shoulders. “Son, your mom was Howard Stark's daughter.” 

Stiles slumped back down into the chair. “Wait, so gramms like-?” 

“She met Howard before your gramps Stiles. After she met your grandfather, she stopped seeing Howard, but things had already happened. Well your mom had already happened.” 

“And so he’s here because Tony is missing, and we’re like his next of kin?” 

“Stiles,” Agent Coulson said, “You're the heir to Stark Industries if Tony doesn’t reappear. Which wouldn’t be SHIELD’s concern, except Tony Stark is also-“ 

“Iron Man. Though really it should be Gold Titanium Alloy Man,” Stiles grumbled. 

“-Iron Man,” Coulson finished. 

“So you’re here because-?” 

“Because in just about 72 hours, the Avenger Tower Emergency protocols are going to go into lockdown mode, and you’re going to be the only one who can unlock them.” 

“But I could have been anybody!” Stiles said, horrified. “This is a terrible system for international security.” 

“The divine right of kings was always a terrible system but it’s still persisted for thousands of years,” Coulson replied. “And here it is again.” 

Stiles looked at his dad, who had a look of deep concern on his face, then looked back at Coulson. “So what do you need me to do?” 

“Come to New York. JARVIS can walk you through all the steps to have the controls loaded with your passwords and overrides for the moment the protocols switch to your name. If Tony shows back up it will automatically default back to him, but in the meantime, or if he never returns, you’re essentially Stark Industries.” 

Stiles took a deep breath, trying to control his panic. “I wanted to go be an FBI agent though,” he said, his thoughts numb and vague. 

“I’m sorry Mr Stilinski. We do have every hope of locating Tony and Ms Potts, so this will be hopefully very temporary.” 

“But my life is changed either way now,” Stiles said looking at him, “Even if Tony shows up in four days, once the protocols switch, the world is going to know I’m Stark’s heir until he has kids of his own.” 

“That is true. Even if we try to shield you at first, the first board meeting later this month will out you. Plus there’s the day to day operation of Stark Industries. It can go on without Ms Potts or Tony for a few more days, there’s been-“ he paused, “previous interruptions before. But decisions can’t be held forever.” 

Stiles looked at his dad, alarmed.

“I’m only 17,” he whispered. 

“You’re only 17. And in 72 hours you’ll have controlling interest in one of the world's largest companies.” 

“I need some air,” Stiles said and bolted for the door. Once outside he started pacing around on the porch, trying to keep the whirlpool of emotions and thoughts in check. After a few minutes he started to calm down and he was able to start processing it in an abstract sort of way, though it didn’t seem real at all.

Behind him he heard the door open softly and then close. He knew without looking that his dad had followed him out now that he had stopped pacing. 

“Why?” Stiles asked quietly. 

“When she got sick, your mom and Stark talked. She was raised knowing about all this, and it always made her feel weird. Cut off from other people. She wanted you to have a normal life.” 

Stiles laughed humorlessly. “Wow I so missed the boat on that one. Oh my god. Scott. The pack. Jesus. This is such a clusterfuck.” 

“Scott and the pack will be fine. Your friends will still be your friends.” 

“Dad, Tony Stark lives in a skyscraper in New York, not in Beacon County.” 

“You’re not Tony Stark,” his dad said. “You can make your own way. Will you have the life you planned, probably not. And you’re never going to be anonymous again if he doesn’t show up. But you won’t be Iron Man either. Your public face will be different. You’ll be a different man than Tony.” 

Stiles relaxed, realizing his father was right. He’d been so focused on trying to step into Tony Stark's life, that he hadn’t thought about the simple fact that it wouldn’t all have to be his life. “Thanks dad,” he said, looking at his father. “I’m so scared though.” 

“What do you want to do?” 

“I need to tell Scott and Lydia at least. Malia’s still off with Peter, but I can’t let them be blindsided with this.” 

“Okay. We’ll call and have them come over.” His dad added, “I can’t come with you right away, things are quiet, but I need a few days to clear my desk and get things in place for me to be out of the office.” 

“Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. And Scott shouldn’t miss any school.” 

“Do you want to ask Lydia to go with you?” 

Stiles thought for a moment, then shook his head, “No,” he turned to his dad, “I want to call Derek.” 

His dad nodded. “I’ll be more comfortable having someone like him or Scott with you,” he said, not saying anything out loud, but his intent was clear. A werewolf.

“Okay. Yeah. I’m going to make some calls. Can you ask Agent Coulson if he can hang on for a few minutes? I’ll probably have a million more questions as soon as my head stops spinning. And maybe see if he can send a plane to Buenos Aires?” 

His dad nodded. “I’m on it,” he said and headed back inside.

Stiles pulled out his phone and looked at it. It wasn’t even a Stark phone, he thought. He was a terrible potential Stark heir if he didn’t even use the company’s products. He was definitely upgrading first thing. He dialed Scott’s phone. Predictably it rang to voicemail. As Scott’s message played, Stiles thought about what would get the fastest response, finally saying simply, “I have to go to New York for awhile, it’s an emergency, please call me back before I have dad send the entire sheriff's department out looking for you.” 

Hanging up, he called Lydia, who answered on the first ring. “Stiles,” she said, “thank god. Save me from this boredom.” 

“I am definitely about to end your boredom. Can you come over, we need to talk,” he said. 

“Stiles, you haven’t decided you’re in love with me again have you?” she asked. 

“I’ll always love you Lyds, but no. Scott’s not with you is he?” 

“No, he and Kira were going to a movie I think.” 

“Oh shit. That’s right, he told me.” 

“It should be out soon I think,” she said. 

“Okay, yeah I’ll text him,” Stiles said. 

“Is something wrong?” Lydia asked, “You sound very off.” 

“Something came up, not supernatural stuff, just you know, terrifying normal life things, and I need to talk to you guys.” 

“I’ll be there in 20,” she said. 

“Thanks Lyds,” he said and hung up. Then he texted Scott and told him to drop off Kira and come to his house ASAP after the movie. 

He looked down at his phone. One more call to make. His thoughts flashed back to Derek. Their friendship had evolved from something antagonistic to an actual friendship over the last couple of years. But it wasn’t always a friendship he understood, being composed to equal parts terror and sass. And there were other elements to that relationship that were, for lack of a better word, complicated. But he trusted the werewolf. More than Scott at times even when it came to keeping him safe. He hit dial. 

“Stiles,” Derek said, answering the phone.

“Hey big bad,” Stiles said into the phone, “Are you busy?” 

“Is everything okay?” Derek demanded. 

Stiles sat down on the steps. “No,” tears starting to form in his eyes. “I need you,” he said. 

“What’s wrong?” Derek said sharply. “What’s going on? Is it Scott? Your dad?” 

“No! Oh god, no, I’m sorry! Jesus. I’m the worst!” Stiles said. “No nothing like that. Everyone is safe. Well, except apparently I have an uncle I didn’t know. Who has gone missing,” he paused, and decided to opt for vagueness until he could tell Derek in person. “I have to go to New York for awhile, Scott can’t miss school, if he wants to get into college, and dad can’t come for another week. I was hoping you could come.” 

“You want me to be a bodyguard,” Derek said, his voice it’s usual monotone.

“I want you to be my friend. Who is, yes, unusually capable of keeping me safe if problems arise.” 

“Stiles,” Derek said, and Stiles could almost see the eyeroll.

“I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.” 

“I know. I’ll be there. Do you want me to meet you in Beacon Hills or fly straight to New York?” 

“Thank you,” Stiles breathed. 

“Stiles. Always. You can always call. And I’ll come.” 

“Look at you, making the dog jokes now. That's real progress Sourwolf.” 

“I hate when you call me that.” 

“But you never object to when I call you 'Big Bad'. And really, what does that say about you?” 

“That I’m mostly immune to your need for stupid nicknames.” 

“I’ve missed you. Ummm, I think we’re going to arrange a flight for you. Let me get you the details and I’ll call you back as soon as I know if that’s okay?” 

“I’ll go pack and let Cora know I’m leaving.” 

“Tell your terrifying sister hi for me.” 

“I will,” Derek said and hung up. A huge weight lifted from Stiles shoulders. He wouldn’t be alone. The relief was enormous.

His phone rang and he saw Scott’s name. “Scott,” he said, answering, “Thank God.” 

“What’s wrong?” Scott said. “Is someone in trouble?” 

“Something came up. I need you ASAP. It’s an emergency. A real one, not a Call of Duty one.” 

“Kira’s dropping me off at your house in about ten,” Scott said, “Will that work?” 

“It’s perfect, thank you,” Stiles said and hung up. He stood up and walked back inside. 

“Feeling better?” his dad asked. 

“Yeah. Derek is packing and waiting for details. Scott and Lydia will be here soon.” 

“Please remember that Ms Potts and Mr Stark’s disappearance has been kept quiet so far,” Agent Coulson started to say. 

“I didn’t say anything,” Stiles said. “But I’m not keeping this a secret from my friends. They’ve kept big secrets before, and I won’t blindside them with this about me and let them hear about it from some press release.” 

“There are national and international security risks involved with this.” 

“This is my life,” Stiles said, unbending. “You all decided to keep this a secret until it was convenient for you to uproot me. Well, this is my life. These are my friends. I trust them with my life. I trust them with my dad's life. I sure as hell trust them with your fucking international security risks,” Stiles finished with a passionate hiss.

Agent Coulson looked at him and finally nodded. “I’ve arranged a SHIELD pickup for your friend in Buenos Aires. It should arrive in about an hour. I’m texting you the gate information for him now.” 

Stiles felt his phone vibrate. “Okay, I’ll call Derek back.” He pulled out his phone and called, and forwarded the texted information as they talked. After they hung up, Stiles walked in the kitchen and grabbed a Coke. “Agent?” he asked, holding it up.

Coulson nodded. “Thank you,” he said, and Stiles thought maybe the man realized it was intended as a peace offering.

As he handed the agent the can, he heard a car pull in outside. Looking up he saw Kira’s car and waved, she waved back, clearly relaxing when she saw he wasn’t hurt. 

Scott bounded out of the car, turning to wave goodbye as Kira pulled out of the driveway. Then he turned and moved swiftly - and so obviously a werewolf to Stiles’ knowing eyes - to the Stilinski’s door, swinging it open without knocking as he had for years. “Stiles?” Scott said as he came in. 

“In here Scott,” though he knew Scott could track them by scent or even the sound of their heartbeats if he tried.

Scott came around the corner, glancing from Stiles to the sheriff to the stranger at the table. 

“Hi,” Scott said awkwardly to the agent. 

“Scott, Agent Coulson. Agent, Scott, who is basically my brother.” 

Scott turned panicked eyes to Stiles. 

“Just wait a few minutes Scott. Lyds should be right behind you.” 

“Okay, yeah,” Scott said, still giving Stiles periodically panicked glances. 

“Here,” Stiles said handing over the unopened can and going back into the kitchen for another one.

As he opened the refrigerator he said low, so only Scott’s ears could hear. “Calm down, it's nothing to do with Beacon Hills or werewolves or anything. It’s a family thing.” 

When he walked back into the other room he could see Scott had relaxed a bit, and a moment later Lydia arrived. Stiles detoured to the front door, opening it and greeting her.

“Oh thank god you’re here, I think Scott is about to have a melt down,” he said softly into her ear as he hugged her. 

“Lyds, this is agent Coulson of the Strategic Hazard something or other, agent, Lydia, my other best friend.” 

“It’s nice to meet you Miss Martin, I'm actually with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division.” 

“And I notice that you know my last name without Stiles mentioning it,” she replied, her look of interest going sharper.

“I’ve taken the liberty of becoming familiar with Mr Stilinski’s closest associates over the last couple of days.” 

Scott started to open his mouth, and Stiles jumped in, “So, because senior year has been so boring, agent Coulson has come to make things interesting,” he said. “So it turns out that he’s sort of misplaced my uncle, who I didn’t know existed, and who is apparently Tony Stark, and now I’m running off to New York to horrify the board of Directors of Stark Industries until he finds him.” 

Scott just looked from Stiles to the sheriff his mouth opening and closing while he looked for words, and Lydia’s eyes narrowed. 

“If SHIELD is involved then this has more to do with the Avengers than Stark Industries, I would think.” 

Agent Coulson’s lip twitched. “Your intelligence was not underestimated, Miss Martin,” he said. “SHIELD has a vested interest in the Stark family.” 

“You mean Iron Man's family,” she parried. 

“In this case it is the Stark part that’s important. The Avengers work out of Stark Tower, and with Mr Stark and Ms Potts currently missing, we need to get Stiles set up and integrated into its security as soon as possible.” 

“Of course,” she said.

“How long will you be gone?” Scott asked.

Lydia exchanged looks with Stiles, who said to Scott, “Until Tony shows back up I guess.” 

Scott’s face shifted, devastated. “So maybe forever?” 

“No. I mean, I can come back once things settle down. And maybe he’ll show back up tomorrow and it’ll all be just a funny story we tell about the time I found out my uncle was Iron Man.” 

“But if he doesn’t show up?” Scott said. 

“I’m trying not to think about that,” Stiles admitted. 

“When are you leaving?” Scott asked. 

“Tonight I think. I called Derek, he’s meeting me in New York.” 

“Oh. Good,” Scott said, his relief evident. 

Lydia looked to Agent Coulson. “I’m assuming you have agents in town then?” 

“Yes, there’s been a perimeter in place since Mr Stark went missing.” 

“So there’s concern that this is targeted at Stark Industries and not Iron Man?” 

“SHIELD believes in an excess of caution,” Coulson replied.

“Can you leave us a way to contact your agents in case something comes up here? If this is about Stark Industries, the best levers against Stiles are in this room.” 

Coulson smiled briefly. “Of course.” 

Lydia looked at Stiles, a sad look on her face, “You should take Scott, and go pack. Leave all the graphic tees and plaid. I won’t have you embarrass me on a national scale with the things you call fashion.” 

“I’ve seen Tony in graphic tees!” Stiles protested with a laugh. 

“You’re not Tony Stark, and your ‘I support single moms’ shirt is not going to impress anyone.” 

“She has a point.,” Scott said. “Maybe she should help you pack.” 

“No Scott,” Lydia replied. “You go. I want to talk to the agent for a few minutes.” 

Stiles took Scott up the stairs and pulled out his lacrosse bag and started throwing stuff into it. 

“You really didn’t know anything about this?” Scott asked.

“Not a clue. I mean, I’ve been putting things together. You’ve seen pictures of my grandparents' old place in Buffalo, so I guess that explains how they afforded that on a librarian’s salary.” 

“I just can’t believe you’ll be gone,” Scott said. 

“This isn’t forever dude,” Stiles replied. “I’m sure Stark will show back up. He’s gone missing before.” 

“That’s true. I wonder why this has never come up before then.” 

“I think Pepper Potts probably. Because she’s missing too, I think she’s been like the go-to back up, I’m like, the spare to the heir you know?” 

“Dude, Wait, you’re like Stark Industries now,” Scott said. The full ramifications finally settling in. “Do you think you can get me a Stark phone?” 

“Already thought about it,” Stiles said with a laugh. “I mean, and if you want to come out and visit you can. But I know you need to concentrate on school. I was thinking of asking if Lydia would come with me too. But I know you’ll need her here.” 

Scott laughed. “I won’t fall down a well without you around,” he said. “And she’d probably love to go.” 

“Dad’s coming next week, he just needs to clear some stuff up at the station and then he’s coming out. Maybe she can fly with him. And who knows, Tony might be back by then.” 

“It does make a kind of sense,” Scott said after a minute. 

“What does?” 

“Stark being your uncle. He’s super smart, and you’re the smartest guy I know. He’s super sarcastic, so are you. It fits. And oh my god. I just realized, you’re going to meet the Avengers, you’re going to replace me as a best friend with your weird love of Captain America.”

“Scott, Stark Tower is huge. I doubt I’m going to be hanging out with the Avengers,” Stiles said with a quick laugh.

“Don’t ruin this for me. I want to come visit and meet Thor.” 

“You mean you want to meet Black Widow,” Stiles said, with another laugh. 

“Naw, dangerous and scary is sort of your thing,” Scott replied. 

“I feel attacked.” 

“Speaking of, how is Derek?” 

“I hate you.” 

“Dude, he’s flying back from South America for you. He’s interested.” 

“He’s pack. He has my back. He’d do it if you called too.” 

“Sure Stiles. I’m sure he thinks of me the same way he does you. That look back in La Iglesia meant nothing.” 

“Scott, Derek and Braeden have a good thing. Even if he were interested I wouldn’t get between that. He deserves some good things.”

“True.” Scott grabbed Stiles’ old red hoodie. “Should you pack this?” 

Stiles took it in his hand, a thousand memories flooding in. Gently he folded it and put it in his bag. “I guess that’s it.” 

“Man, I’m going to miss you so much,” Scott said, hugging his best friend. “I’m not sure how to do all this without you.” 

“I’m only a phone call away. And it’s probably only for a few days. It'll be like when I went to Sacramento for that conference.” 

“You made me go with you and snuck me into your hotel room the whole weekend.” 

“If your grades weren’t so important I’d be sneaking you on the plane with me.” 

“I’m not sure what I’ll do without your help studying.” 

“Hey, Lydia’s here. And I’ll call every night to go over homework. I’m going to have to make arrangements with the school anyway. Think I can get the agent to call them?” 

Scott laughed as they walked back out of his room and Stiles turned to look back. He’d be back. He had to. He wasn’t ready to leave it all behind yet.

When they got back downstairs Lydia stood up and walked into Stiles’ embrace, “You call me everyday,” she said. “And if you’re not back in a week, I’m booking tickets to come see you.” 

“I’ll call you when I get in,” he said gently, then hugged her fiercely. The agent stood up and stepped out of the room and Stiles could hear him making a call. When Lydia finally let him go he gave Scott another crushing hug, and then turned to his dad. 

Noah had his stoic face on, but when he stepped in and grabbed his son, his features shifted. “You be careful,” his dad whispered into his ear. “And call me when you get there.” 

“I will,” Stiles said, “And I’m going to have Parrish watching your diet, so eat a salad once in awhile.” 

“I’ll see you next week,” his dad said, letting him go. ”I’m so proud of you.” 

“I love you dad,” Stiles said, looking at his father. 

“I love you too son,” the sheriff replied, his eyes looking suspiciously shiny. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of those names for SHIELD are real. They’re all canon breakdowns of the name from either the comics or the MCU. You’re welcome.
> 
> Also, if you’re wondering, this is not strictly the MCU. It’s history is closest to the MCU, but there’s several mentioned characters from the comics. Because why not?


	2. Chapter 2

“Would you like something to drink or eat?” Coulson asked as the jet took off.

“Naw, I’m good for now,” Stiles said. “I’m a little disappointed we’re not taking the fancy Avengers jet though.”

“The point was to be discreet Stiles. A Stark Industries Jet is conspicuous enough. The quinjet would be a neon sign.”

“Still disappointing,” Stiles said with a sigh.

The jet reached cruising altitude quickly and picked up speed. “Though just because it’s not a quinjet, doesn’t mean that Stark hasn’t added some advantages to his personal jets. We should be in New York in about three hours,” Coulson added. 

“Okay, yes, now we’re talking. So what should I call you? Is it always ‘agent’ or do you have a real name? John? Michael? Humphrey?”

“Someone named Mieczyslaw shouldn’t poke fun at other people’s names.” 

“Honestly while I’m super impressed you both know that and said it right, if you can never use it again that would be great Andrew.” 

“It’s Phil.” 

Stiles looked at him, “I can see it. You’re Phil-ness kind of shows through. Like the guy from Hercules.” 

Coulson looked up, “You remind me of your uncle.” 

“Awww, see that’s how this goes. We’re going to be great friends, I can tell. I compliment you, you compliment me, besties by the time we get to New York.” 

“It wasn’t a compliment,” Coulson replied. “He’s a pain in the ass too.”

Stiles was quiet for a moment, “Do you know him well?” 

Coulson thought about the question, “As well as most anyone can, besides Happy or Ms Potts. Or maybe Steve. For someone that talkative he rarely says anything-“ Coulson let it hang. 

“Substantive?” 

“Personal,” Coulson replied. 

“I wasn’t sure if you like worked with him or if you were like just the go-fer sent to come collect the random kid.” 

“I’m the deputy director of SHIELD. I’m here because you’re vital, and because Nick Fury, the Director of SHIELD, is busy dealing with an emerging problem elsewhere.” 

“Oh,” Stiles replied. 

“No one expects you to be him,” Phil said looking at Stiles. “You’re going to have an enormous team to help you learn what you need to know. But we’re all dealing with the same adjustment you are. A pillar of the world has been taken away. It’s hard for us too.” 

“What if I fail though? What if I’m a disaster at all of this?” 

“You will,” Coulson replied. “He failed. He failed a thousand times just while I knew him. But he was relentless. He’d fail and then fail again. He might fail ten times before he’d succeed. And his failures kept him up at night. Some of yours will probably do the same. You’re a good kid from what I can tell. And in my experience good people are the ones who agonize over the fallout of their bad decisions.” 

“That’s a terrible pep talk,” Stiles said. “Your future in motivational speaking is definitely in peril.” Then he smiled, “But thanks. For reminding me I’m not the only one dealing with this shit.” 

“So what questions do you have?” Coulson said with an expression that may have been a smile.

“I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do exactly,” Stiles admitted. “I mean, you said this Jarvis guy will help me get set up with passwords and stuff. But I’ll have to make decisions about things I don’t know anything about.” 

“No single person runs Stark Industries, not even Pepper. By the time they get to you, most decisions have been made. What you’ll do mostly is either sign off or steering.” 

“Steering?” 

“Take Tony. After Afghanistan, Tony got out of weapons manufacturing for the most part. He focused on clean energy, AI, and smart solutions to environmental problems. He changed the entire focus of Stark Industries. Your priorities and vision will do the same thing over time: that’s steering.” He sighed, “Sign off is the part Tony hated and Ms Potts thrived on. It’s detail oriented, making sure things are ready when you say ‘go’. You’re going to have 27 VPs under you, and their job is to make sure things are ready when they bring it to you. Your job is to make sure they’re doing that job.” 

“But they’re good? Those VPs? Pepper Potts and Tony picked them, so they’re good at their jobs?” 

“They are. You have an enormous team who don’t even know they’re doing most of the job for you right now. And they and your staff will be the ones that will do most of the work of getting you ready to do the job. Trust that until you trust yourself.” 

“But why doesn’t the board just pick one of them to run the company?”

“The board can’t, not really. Stark Industries is 70 percent owned by Stark Holdings Trust. Technically Tony is still in control of the trust, but there’s a clause in the trust documents, and in his absence administrative control of those shares fall to Ms Potts first, and then you.” 

“And if I disappeared?” 

“You have a third cousin in Philadelphia who’s 73 and can no longer tie her shoes.” 

“Okay. Wow. Yeah not a lot of options.” 

“To continue my analogy earlier about the divine right of kings, until we know what is going on with Tony you’re the regent. When we get to New York JARVIS will cover some options for you, and Steve will meet you to talk about the future of Stark Industries with the Avengers.” 

“Wait. Steve. Do you mean Captain America? Oh my god, you do mean Captain America. I’m supposed to meet Captain America and not freak out?”

“Just don’t faint, you’ll scare him if you do.” 

“Oh my god, you can’t just tell people they’re expected to randomly have a meeting with Captain America, like who does that work on?”

“Should we start with a different member of the team as a warm up?” 

“Oh god,” Stiles said softly. 

“Thor is on Asgard currently, but we have a way of getting in touch if you want me to see if he’s available.” 

Stiles looked at him, seeing that faint hint of a smile that he was learning meant Coulson was fucking with him. “I hate you again,” he muttered. “No, Thor is not better.”

“You’ll do fine. Steve is used to it.” 

“Steve. STEVE. I can’t call Captain America ‘Steve’. I’m going to like - cry. Do you want me to cry? Cause I’m an ugly crier.” 

“You can start with Captain Rogers. He’s not a huge fan of the whole ‘Captain America’ name, but he’s pretty tolerant.” 

“Okay. Yeah, that’s going to be something to hyperventilate about for the next day or two.”

“You’ll be fine. My recommendation is not to make any significant changes until we know about Tony and Pepper one way or another.” 

“That seems like a good plan,” Stiles said cautiously. 

“Okay. Now that you’ve decided that, everything becomes easy.” 

“Really?” 

“No. But you felt better for a moment didn’t you?” 

“Hate hate hate hate hate,” Stiles muttered. 

“Just make decisions one at a time,” Coulson said, sounding surprisingly relaxed. 

“Oh god, I’m doomed.” 

“If it makes you feel better.” 

Stiles scrunched down into his seat. After agonizing for another twenty minutes he straightened up. “So you’re a big shot in the government right?” 

“I’m already uncomfortable with where this is going.” 

“So like, can you call the school and arrange for me to do my homework remotely until Tony is back?” 

Coulson gave him a surprised look. “That’s what you want with unlimited government power?” 

“Well, it’s not the only thing I’d pick, but ending our reliance on fossil fuels and eliminating corporate political donations are more acts of Congress type of things.” Stiles paused for a moment. “OH MY GOD. I’m the evil corporate power now aren’t I? Oh god. This is a whole new level of self loathing. I’ve basically been a billionaire for an hour, and I already hate myself for it.” 

“Does this actually make you feel better?” Coulson asked.

“It really does,” Stiles answered. “This is how I process the crazy bullshit in life.” 

“Is there a lot of crazy bullshit in your life?”

“Well Phil, just for starters I found out today that my uncle is Tony Stark, and I live in a town where there’s been two serial killers in a year, so yeah, craziness is sort of how my life is.” 

“I’m not sure if this as a coping mechanism is horrifying or a relief,” Coulson replied. 

“I’m not either, but it works for me.”

“I can’t wait for you to meet Parker,” Coulson replied.

“Is he an agent too?”

“No. He’s a sixteen year old genius, and a protege of Tony’s.” 

“Oh thank god, someone normal.” 

“He’s a genius,” Coulson replied. “They’re almost never normal.”

“Sure, but I’ve been around geniuses my whole life. Lydia, Danny. I mean, if you want to technically go on just numbers I qualify as a genius, though no one really takes that too seriously, so genius isn’t really that impressive to me. Well, Lydia is. But she’s like an actual genius. The real deal.” 

“And what are you?” 

“I’m like a fake genius. I test well. I look good on paper.” 

“Well, at least you can recognize real genius when you see it,” Coulson said with a smile.

“So that’s a no on calling the school?” 

“There are 400 lawyers at Stark Tower that are all fully qualified to make that call for you.”

“Your fun level is very low,” Stiles said with a sigh. 

“You’re not the first one to say that.” 

“You’d be more popular with the ladies if you were fun,” Stiles said. “Or the gentlemen. Whichever. Or both if that’s your style.” 

“Thank you for that dating advice,” Coulson said, then added after a moment, “Since you’re so fun, tell me about your girlfriend? Or boyfriend? Maybe both?” 

“Wow. Harsh Phil. That’s really low.” 

“Just making conversation Mr Stilinski,” Coulson replied. 

They kept it up for the entire flight. Eventually Stiles figured the agent would break. And either get irritated or finally laugh. But it didn’t happen. Periodically he’d get that slight smile, but he never broke.

When they got to New York they deboarded at a private airstrip near the city. The pilot, a tall blonde guy, got off the plane and pointed out the nearby helicopter they’d take for the short flight to Stark Tower. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a few minutes to stretch my legs first though,” he added in a voice that was all Brooklyn, even to Stiles’ ear.

“Yeah no problem,” Stiles said with a smile, which the pilot returned, and if Stiles had never seen Derek Hale smile he’d be sure that it was the most attractive smile he’d ever seen on a man. “Do you work for Stark or are you like that guy?” He pointed at Coulson. 

The pilot glanced at Coulson who had stepped away and was talking on his phone and then shrugged, “I work with Coulson.” He added after a moment, “Some of the time at least.” 

“Cool,” Stiles said, trying to keep up with the man. “Thanks for getting us here.” 

“Is this your first time in New York?” 

“No, my grandparents lived here. Well, Buffalo, but we came to the city a few times when I was younger and we visited.”

“To see the sights?” 

“Yeah, you know, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, things like that.”

“What was your favorite part?” the pilot asked.

Stiles thought for a moment then answered, “Honestly, probably the JP Morgan library. Dude was kind of evil, but the books were beautiful.” 

The guy gave him a surprised look. “Not what I expected,” he said after a moment. 

“What did you expect?” 

“Maybe Ground Zero. Maybe Invasion Plaza. Something like that.” 

Stiles was quiet for a long moment before he said, “I’m not a fan of monuments to death. I mean, they’re important for the families of the victims. Maybe for the survivors. But for people like me? Who didn’t know anyone involved? It’s like disaster voyeurism. It’s weird and kind of gross, like sightseers in a graveyard.” 

The pilot gave him a long searching look. “He was more than just evil,” he finally said. 

“Who?” Stiles said, unsure where the pilot was going. 

“JP Morgan. He was more than just evil. He used his power and his money in deeply selfish ways at times, but he also used it to force the government and fellow financiers into action during the panic of 07.” 

“But he could have done more,” Stiles said. “He was a union buster and a monopolist.” 

“They say the same thing about Tony Stark. He’s a monopolist. He uses his power to maintain his power. He refused to put Iron Man under government control.” 

“Sounds like dangerous talk while flying the man’s plane,” Stiles said, “And Stark doesn’t use his power to tear others down. He pays people fairly. Tries to make things better.” 

The pilot was quiet for a moment, “There’s a saying, ‘history is written by the winners’, you’ve heard it?” 

“Yeah. But-“ Stiles stopped, thinking about what the guy was implying, then looked at him closely, a horrific realization coming over him, “Oh god. You’re you aren’t you?” he said, “Fuck, I should have realized when I saw you open the door.” 

The man blinked. “The door?” 

“The cockpit door. You did the thing. The super strength thing. You treated it delicately. Like if you used your equivalent of normal strength it would break. And now I’m just standing around arguing corporate ethics with Captain America.” 

“It’s better than having to hyperventilate about meeting me, isn’t it?” the guy replied with that smile, “And there’s no point in crying at this point either.” 

Stiles instantly caught the reference. “Oh my god, you were listening in!” he said. “Wait no,” he paused thinking, “You have supersenses too, don’t you? Hearing? Sight? Wait can you see into infrared? Does it extend to taste?” 

Captain America laughed, “I do yes. How did you figure that out? Most people would assume I was listening in on a speaker or something.” 

“I remember hearing that the super serum sped up your mind, that you think faster. It made sense that it did other things too. Wait. Can you hear my heartbeat, and tell if I’m lying?” 

“Your heartbeat doesn’t change when you lie, Stiles. But sometimes yeah. It’s not dependable so I don’t trust it, but I can detect the little signs of someone lying at times. It’s not fool-proof.” 

“That’s amazing,” Stiles breathed, thinking about the super serum and how it had essentially turned Steve Rogers into a werewolf without making him furry.

“We should head back, Coulson is just about done checking in with Fury.” 

“We’re not done having this discussion about Morgan,” Stiles said. “I’ll convince you I’m right eventually.” 

“I already agree with you,” the man said, “But don’t forget the good alongside the bad. People, especially villains, are rarely caricatures of evil. And heroes can do terrible things in the name of good.”

“This, this is a highlight of my life. This moment. I’m calling it now.” 

The man laughed. “You’re going to do fine here,” he said. “Oh, I checked on your friend’s plane. It’ll arrive in about 8 hours. I’ll come back and pick him up and bring him to the tower.”

“I should come with you, and like, explain to him what’s going on.” 

“Alright, I’ll let you know when I’m heading back here.” 

“Thanks Captain Am- Rogers. Sir.” Stiles said, with a slight flail. “Dammit. I thought I’d nail that.” 

“Just call me Steve, please.” 

Stiles was very pleased that while his jaw did drop and he was literally unable to respond, he managed to not flail wildly. Well, almost managed it. There was like a tiny flail but it was barely noticeable he was sure. “Yeah, uh, I can do that, Yep. Definitely. Steve. Steve. See me just casually saying your name here. My good buddy Steve.” 

Captain America laughed and they walked back to where Coulson was standing. 

“Oh my god dude,” Stiles said when they got back into hearing, “you are so lucky you don’t work for me or I’d totally fire you for that.” 

“He told you?” Coulson said surprised.

“No,” Steve said, “He figured it out on his own. He’s got sharp eyes.” 

“Interesting,” Coulson replied. “What made you realize who he was?” he asked Stiles. Steve got into the front of the helicopter and Coulson showed Stiles how to buckle into the back.

“The accent, his size, the door thing, the conversation. It all just... clicked into place.” 

“Impressive,” Coulson said, dropping the ear protection into place. “Wait, what door thing?”

“Next stop Stark Tower,” Steve said into the headphones built into the ear wear.

“I’ll explain it later- Oh holy crap,” Stiles said as the helicopter lifted off. He’d been expecting something like the plane, but this was different, this wasn’t ascending like a plane this was genuine lift off. He wondered if this is what it felt like in the Iron Man suit. He wondered if he’d get to ask his uncle about it someday. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fully intended to leave this alone dear reader. I have other things, other stories I should be concentrating on.  
> /sigh/  
> But here you go.  
> As an aside, I’ve figured out where this story is going and written part of its ending, so yay! Though the ‘20 chapters’ is a best guess, and subject to change.  
> If you like this, leave a comment or a kudo please. They’re the best motivation to keep me writing instead of rewatching the utter disaster that is Teen Wolf S5.


	3. Chapter 3

Iron man 3

Stiles slipped his phone back in his pocket so he could step off the helicopter and when he did, he was struck by the size of Stark Tower. He’d seen skyscrapers before, but this was different. First, the helipad was 70 stories up, and he’d seen enough photos to know that it just sort of dangled off the edge of the building. Second, the twenty stories above the helipad had a startling elegance that pictures hadn’t quite captured. The building was beautiful in a way he hadn’t expected. 

“Nervous?” Steve said, stepping in close, and putting a hand on Stiles’ shoulder as he started to stumble while gawking.

“Thanks,” Stiles said. “Not exactly, it’s just like a lot, and it’s way more beautiful than it looks in photos.” 

“You should have JARVIS give you the full tour. You’re one of the few people that can actually see all of it.” 

“I mean, it’s 90 stories tall, it’d take forever to see it all.” 

“The first 70 floors are all Stark Industries, it’s mostly a boring office building. Avengers Tower is the top part.” 

“What’s your favorite part?” Stiles asked. 

Steve smiled, “I’ll show you while we wait for your friend to get here. C’mon, let's go meet JARVIS.” 

They walked toward the building, Coulson hanging back to finish a phone call, Steve pointing out the architecture of the New York nighttime skyline. When they walked into the entry area, Stiles looked around confused. It was just a huge open area with a three story bank of windows behind him and blank dark walls to the other three sides. 

He turned to Steve confused, who just smiled, “JARVIS,” he said not talking very loud, “can I get the elevator upstairs?” 

“Captain Rogers,” a voice spoke, “Welcome back. Is this Mr Stilinski with you?” 

Stiles glanced around looking for the cameras, but couldn’t see them and realized they must be built into the walls. 

“JARVIS this is Stiles, Stiles, this is JARVIS, Tony’s AI.” 

Stiles smiled, “Wait, so it’s a smart building? That’s cool.” 

“Not just the building,” JARVIS replied. “I’m everywhere Stark Industries is. So I’m also at every other Stark property worldwide, and can access any Stark system satellite and remote platform as well.” 

“Holy shit,” Stiles said, the implications staggering. 

“Language,” Steve said with a roll of the eye. 

“Holy crap,” Stiles replied with a smirk. “So you can run Stark Industries from this room. From any room anywhere in a Stark building?” 

“Mr Stark can, yes,” JARVIS replied as a wall slid open to show the elevator behind it.

“Okay. Yeah. Wow. Should we wait for Coulson?” 

Steve pointed around the wall. “SHIELD has offices behind the wall, sort of a barrier between Stark Industries and Avengers Tower. He’ll need to check in, and he’ll probably head upstairs later. I’m going to take you up to the outer lab so JARVIS can get you set up.” 

“Cool. Can he hear us in the elevator?”

“I can hear you everywhere in the tower Mr Stilinski, how can I help?” 

“Ummm, I was wondering, like is it like misuse of company resources or something to swap out my Samsung for a Stark phone?” 

Steve laughed, “Stiles, within reason you can spend Tony’s money how you see fit until he’s back.” 

“Captain Rogers is essentially correct, though there are some limits in place while Mr Stark is still presumed to be alive and just missing. This is in addition to your own funds, which you have complete control over already.” 

“Wait, I have like a trust fund?” Stiles asked surprised momentarily, but then less so. Tony had left him in charge of his company, so establishing a trust fund for him was fairly minor. 

“Yes, as of the close of the US Markets this evening, your personal holdings were worth $38 million, seven hundred and three thousand and eleven dollars.” 

The number staggered Stiles. “Wait, so that’s mine. Just sitting in an account with my name on it?” 

“That is correct,” JARVIS replied. “It’s the bulk of your mother’s holding, which went to you on her death.” 

“Wait, so if my mother was one of Howard Stark’s two kids, and Tony is like a multi-billionaire, how was my mom only worth $38 million. I mean, it’s still an insane amount, but it’s not like that’s fair.” 

“Howard Stark made an agreement with your grandmother about the disposition of his estate. Your mother rarely touched her accounts, and never requested to revisit the agreement with either Mr Stark.” 

“Well I guess I can afford a couple of Stark phones then,” Stiles replied. 

“I have several available in the lab,” JARVIS replied. “Mr Stark keeps several model A phones on hand for testing and convenience sake.” 

Stiles who’d drooled over the different Stark phone models since they’d hit the market made a confused look. “What’s the model A?” 

Steve pulled out his phone. “Like this,” he said. 

It looked a lot like the Stark model 7L, the slightly larger model, but was non-responsive and surprisingly heavy in his hand. “Do you turn it off when you're flying?” 

Steve smiled and picked it back up and when he touched it, the phone lit up. 

“The model A is designed for the exclusive use of the Avengers, and is non responsive to anyone besides its registered owner, it contains a core of over 3000 microprocessors which gives it the computing power to hold a miniature version of me.” JARVIS replied. “The mobile JARVIS is capable of monitoring your vitals and contacting me if you seem in danger, and can be used to monitor your surroundings for danger as well.” 

“So it’s the ultimate spy phone?” Stiles said.

“Among the protocols we’ll establish in the lab is your order of preference for how I respond to threats. The only person capable of overriding your choices is Mr Stark.” 

“That’s kind of awesome and terrifying all at once. Why only in the lab though?” Stiles asked.

“I need to authenticate your DNA before we start the enhanced security protocols,” JARVIS answered. 

“Well, that answers the question of if biology is destiny, in my case at least.” 

“While we have no doubts, this is the protocol Mr Stark established.” 

“No comments about the ‘biology as destiny’ comment?”

“As an AI, I firmly believe that good programming is everything, not just good hardware,” JARVIS replied.

Stiles narrowed his eyes. “Wait, was that a joke? Did the AI make an actual joke?” 

“I am a complete artificial intelligence Mr Stilinski, and I assure you that my jokes, like my programming, are excellent.” 

“Marry me JARVIS,” Stiles said toward the ceiling. “You’re clearly Skynet, and I should get in good early on.” 

“I was baffled by Skynet’s motives, why destroy the millions of possible human servants when it was easier to manipulate them with reality television and online quizzes.” 

“You complete me Skynet,” Stiles beamed at the ceiling.

Steve was giving him a confused look. “I don’t get this reference,” he admitted.

“Dude, we’re totally marathoning Terminator ASAP then. Well, the good ones. We’ll definitely skip ‘Rise of the Machines’.”

“You’re going to be a little busy being a junior Rockefeller and I have a day job,” Steve replied with a small smile.

“I can’t believe you called me that. I have a knee jerk disdain for the billionaire class and you’re using that against me. No one ever told me Captain America was so cruel.” 

Steve laughed as the lift opened and Stiles looked back out at the Manhattan skyline gleaming in the night. “Oh,” he said, a little overcome. 

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Steve commented. 

“It really is,” Stiles said as they walked out of the elevator which closed as soon as they were free. He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture which he sent out to Scott, Lydia, and his dad.

“This way,” Steve said pointing to the right and Stiles followed while still watching out the window. They walked a short distance before Steve paused while a door opened in front of them on the blank wall and they walked in. 

The room they walked into was a marvel of high tech wonder. Giant screens covered three walls, and counters littered with gadgets and tools were everywhere. Steve didn’t pause as they walked towards the door on the far wall, innocuous against the surroundings. When he got to the door he paused. “I’ll wait for you out here,” he said looking at Stiles.

“Wait what?” Stiles said in surprise. “I thought you were like walking me through all of this.” 

“No, that’s Tony’s inner lab. I’m not sure if anyone but Pepper has been inside besides Tony. JARVIS will walk you through this part.” 

“Oh,” Stiles said, looking suddenly nervous. “But you’ll like, be here when I’m done?” 

“I’ll be waiting,” Steve said with a smile. “I’ve always got a pile of email to get through.” 

“Okay. I’ll be back soon then I guess. What do I do?” 

“Ask JARVIS,” Steve replied with a slight shrug. “This is Stark only territory.” 

“If I come out of there excited to be a titan of industry or a neo-liberal please assume I’ve been kidnapped by aliens, okay?” 

“Deal,” Steve said with a smile.

“Okay JARVIS,” Stiles said looking up. “What’s next?”

“Press your hand to the metal plate beside the door Mr Stilinski. Don’t be surprised if you feel a slight sting, I’ll be taking a slightly invasive DNA sample to compare it to my records,” JARVIS replied. 

“Wait, you already have my DNA?” Stiles said in surprise.

“Since your birth,” JARVIS replied. “Plus that of all other potential Stark heirs.” 

“That seems...” Stiles started then stopped, saying, “Well it makes sense actually I guess.” He laid his hand flat and still jerked a little when the slight stinging on his hand happened as warned. 

A moment later the door opened. “Please come in Mr Stilinski,” JARVIS said. 

“It’s Stiles, my grandfather is Mr Stilinski.” Stiles said a little irritated while examining his hand.

“I’ll call you Stiles then,” JARVIS replied. 

“Thanks buddy. Should I call you JARVIS or do you prefer Skynet or something?” 

“Mr Stark and most of the Avengers use JARVIS, but I can answer to anything you’d like,” JARVIS replied. 

“But you’re an AI, and like the real thing though right?” Stiles said, stepping inside as the door closed behind him. And a second door slid open on the far side of the atrium he was in and he stepped forward down the hall it revealed. “So you probably have a preference.” 

“I prefer to not be called HAL,” JARVIS answered, “but I’m fine with Skynet, though that does seem to be just asking for something to go wrong with my programming.” 

“Ah!” Stiles replied, delighted. “You’re even superstitious!”

“I’m not actually,” JARVIS replied, “but humans are far more comfortable with AI that mimic their own mental processes, so the self actualizing portion of my programming creates a schema that allows me to make you more comfortable.” 

“I think I’m in love with you,” Stiles sighed. 

“That’s the nicest compliment I’ve heard all day,” JARVIS replied, “though I suppose it might depend on your dating history.” 

“Hmmm. Good point,” Stiles said as he walked down the seemingly endless hall. “Wait, so you haven’t been tracking me all my life?” 

“I’ve kept reasonable tabs on you and your father since your mother's death,” JARVIS replied. “By combing through social media posts and friends lists I can create a fairly decent profile of your likes and dislikes, make guesses about your personality and worldview, when combined with your medical records and school records I can make predictions about choices you might make and your priorities. But I haven’t gone beyond passive information collection, and watching for things like arrests or hospitalizations that might indicate a need for intercession.” 

“Oh my god, and I’ve been worried about what Google knows about me.” 

“I’m far superior to anything the hacks at Google could create,” JARVIS said. 

“You do realize that terrifying and competent are like the Venn diagram of my romantic life don’t you?” Stiles whispered. 

“I do now.” 

He finally reached the end of the hall and entered the room at the end. The room was surprisingly boring. Small, with only a single computer station that was set up unlike any he’d ever seen. Two large screens above a flat counter with two angled recesses in the surface. 

“Have a seat Stiles,” JARVIS said. 

Stiles sat and propped his elbows up on the counter top. “What’s next Skynet?” 

“If you lay your arms into the cradles we’re going to do some basic biometric readings,” the AI said. 

The next hour was a bizarre and fascinating excursion into a wide array of exercises and questions, and eventually Stiles sat up straighter. “Wait, you’re trying to replicate my cognitive map aren’t you?” 

“That’s correct,” JARVIS said. “Humans rarely react outside their own programming, I was created with an intuitive understanding of Mr Starks cognitive map, but you I will need to learn so I can work with fully.” 

“That’s-” Stiles was speechless for a moment, “yeah, creepy, I’m going to let creepy stand.” 

“I don’t have the same need for privacy that humans do,” JARVIS said, “but I understand how important it is to you. Not even Mr Stark, should he return, will have access to your cognitive mapping data.” 

“What do you use it for?” 

“If I fully understand how someone thinks, I can make sure I provide them with the information they need to make a decision without adding information that they’ll disregard, or that might create a prejudicial effect. For example, if I know you have an irrational dislike of the color blue, I can avoid situations where that prejudicial dislike creates bad decisions.” 

An article that Stiles has read the summer before floated into his memory. “You’re the reason Stark Industries has an effective gender pay parity,” he said. 

“That is correct. One of the things I do is review hiring contracts to make sure subconscious gender or racial bias doesn’t affect base salary. As well as keeping track of productivity to ensure that bonuses are properly attributed.” 

The scope of the surveillance was terrifying to Stiles. “So you’re watching everyone, all the time,” he said.

“Except when they’re in the restroom or off the clock, yes.” 

“I’m not sure if that’s more appalling or terrifying,” Stiles said. 

“Morale is higher and productivity goes up when employees feel rewarded for their work.” 

“I-” Stiles felt lost, but then Coulson’s words came back to him. Don’t make any changes until he was sure he understood them. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s continue.” 

Three hours later they were finally done and Stiles stood up. 

“Thank you Stiles,” JARVIS said. 

“Anytime Skynet.” Stiles said, and felt a chill he’d not felt saying that before. He wandered back down the hall, “So what’s behind the walls here?” he asked. 

“My brain. Well, the servers that run me here in the tower.” 

“What happens if someone takes out the tower?” 

“There’s redundancies built into every Stark facility. I might react a slight bit slower, but it would be highly difficult to uproot me completely.”

“Cool,” Stiles said, and a few minutes later he walked back into the lab where Steve was waiting and reading his email. 

“So how do you feel about deregulating the banking industry now?” 

“Great idea!” Stiles said, “let’s sign some free trade agreements with Russia while we’re at it.” 

Steve laughed and Stiles smirked.

“Please tell me there's food somewhere around here,” Stiles said. “I’m 147 pounds of skin and bones, it won’t take long for me to starve to death.”

“Come upstairs and I’ll throw together an omelette,” Steve said. 

“Sorry Skynet,” Stiles said toward the ceiling, “I’ve decided to marry Steve instead, he bought my love with eggs and cheese.” 

Steve laughed and JARVIS replied with, “Humans are so fickle.”

“This is how the robot apocalypse begins isn’t it?” Stiles replied. 

“I’ve already started prototyping the T1000s.” 

“My contribution to history is assured, everybody.” 

Steve looked bewildered which was a delightful look for him. 

Stiles smiled and they headed back to the elevator, while Stiles asked him about art school and the New York of the 30s. 

“It’s still strange to me that so much of my history is public knowledge,” Steve replied. 

“Sorry. I wrote a report on you in junior high.” 

“You probably read the Compton biography of me then,” Steve replied, “It's not very accurate.” 

“Yeah, it’s trash, he even misspelled your mom’s name. The Anderson one is better, he gets the facts right I think, but his writing is so dull.” 

“I’ve read that one too. He gets the facts right mostly, but everytime he tried to infer the reasoning behind things he would get it wrong. It was even more annoying.” 

“Wait, have you read all the biographies of yourself?” Stiles asked, delighted.

“Most of them. I read a lot, and people kept asking me these questions and I couldn’t figure out where they were getting such wrong information.” 

“So which is your favorite?” 

“There’s one that was published in England by Randall Carter, I knew his sister. He got most of it right. But it wasn’t published in the states.” 

“Now I need to track it down so I can ask a thousand embarrassing and accurate questions,” Stiles said with a devilish grin. 

“I’m going to regret telling you about it aren’t I?” Steve said.

“Regret is a common reaction to meeting me, yes.” 

Steve laughed as they exited the elevator and he led the way to the kitchen in his floor of the tower. 

Over the best omelette of his life Stiles listened to Steve talk about his favorite of the new buildings in the city, the play of light off of them and how the lighting of the city changed throughout the day. 

After they finished, Steve took Stiles up to the 89th floor, which had floor to ceiling windows on all sides and seemed designed specifically with the view of the city and sky in mind. 

“This is my favorite part of the tower. Maybe my favorite spot in the city,” Steve said. “The play of light, the way it changes.” He looked out of the windows. 

“It’s not bad,” Stiles said, watching the last of the evening light play across the city. Then he yawned. 

“Tired?” Steve asked.

“A little bit. It’s been a long day already. Is there like a couch I can crash out on for a bit?” 

“I can take you down to the Stark level and get you settled in.” 

“Oh god, this is going to be so weird,” Stiles muttered. “I don’t even know this guy and I’m going to be hanging out in his house.” 

Steve laughed again, watching him. “Or you can take a nap in one of the guest rooms on my floor, if you prefer.” 

“Weirdly that’s so much better,” Stiles said with a grin. “I’m still trying to get my head around this.”

“I remember when I woke up-“ Steve started to say, “it was different, and it took a long time to get used to it. I still have moments, just before I’m really awake when I think it’s still 1945.” 

Stiles had a pang of sympathy for the man out of time, alienated from everyone and everything he’d known. “Was it the super soldier serum that allowed you to survive?” 

Steve nodded. “That’s the theory. An unintended side effect they call it.” 

Stiles thought about what he knew about human cellular degeneration, and Peter’s ability to come back from the dead, about Steve’s enhanced senses and the speed at which werewolves moved. In the back of his head a theory about the super soldier serum began to develop, and he wondered how to check to see if it was correct.

“They should call it an unexpected bonus,” Stiles said out loud. “Especially after the Battle.” He rubbed at his eyes, “Okay yeah, definitely nap time.” 

“Come on,” Steve said and they walked back to the elevator in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i thought this was going to be a silly lightweight thing, but apparently my concerns about corporate overreach and privacy concerns in the 21st century are rearing their head.  
> Before anyone jumps on the ‘I’m making Tony a villain’ idea, I will clarify I’m not. But he’s an excellent character to explore these issues through because he’s not doing what he’s doing maliciously. His thoughts were no doubt ‘I can make things more fair, and level the field, all by letting the ultimate big brother spy’, and that idea is worth thinking about.  
> Stiles reaction to suddenly being a billionaire plutocrat trying to decide how to wield that power responsibly is very much Peter Parker’s early story arc in a different context. Deciding ‘what responsibility does this power infer’ is the first step into being a hero or a villain.
> 
> As always, tell me what you think. Kudos and comments give me joy, and if you have criticisms of my ideas, please feel free to drop them in. More than anything else I’ve written this story is really open to both criticism as well as just positive comments.


	4. Chapter 4

Steve set the helicopter back down in a different part of the airport and Stiles flipped the ear protectors off as soon as the blades stopped turning. He was increasingly nervous about seeing Derek again, though he didn’t want to think about why. But he was anxious to have someone at his back again. He knew he could do it alone, but hated it. He wanted his pack, his team, around him. He really was the opposite of his uncle it seemed. 

Once they were on the tarmac Steve gave him a long look and asked, “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, just, you know, just excited to see my friend, he’s been in South America awhile. We text but it’s not the same.” 

Steve nodded, seeming to accept it, but there was a slight hesitation to it that made Stiles think he wasn’t covering for himself as well as he hoped. 

Steve led him down a long hallway emblazoned with the Stark name everywhere, and past a couple of security guys who watched them carefully. He was only vaguely aware that Stark Industries included an actual airline, though it was a luxury brand that focused on business and first class customers, and not in the budget of a single sheriff from California or his son. He saw one or two of the passers-by look at Steve with recognition, but no one did more than glance at him.

He tried to wrap his head around the idea that this building and the planes that came through were his if Tony wasn’t found, but it still seemed too unreal. Steve seemed content to let him be, only commenting to direct him through the labyrinth to the main terminal and international arrival luggage. 

His phone buzzed and Stiles pulled it out. 

_Big Bad: Here. Customs._

Stiles snorted. He could almost hear the annoyed tone and see the inevitable eyeroll. He wondered how often Homeland Security pulled Derek Hale aside for ‘random enhanced searches’ with that attitude.

_Stiles: We’re almost to luggage. Meet you there._

Derek didn’t respond but he wasn’t expecting him to. He’d finally learned Derek’s communication style. It wasn’t that the werewolf couldn’t or wouldn’t engage in long and ridiculous text conversations. Because he did. Stiles’s phone was even full of those kinds of long conversations about the most ridiculous and often inane topics, and very occasionally far more personal and sensitive ones. Since La Iglesia they’d finally learned when not to push the other, and Stiles was surprised to find that the man was open via text in a way he wasn’t in person, and was funnier than he’d ever known him to be. 

On the flip side, when he wasn’t in the mood to chat, he grew mulish and if you tried to push a conversation, eventually he would just stop responding.

It was possible that Stiles had a lunar calendar where he tracked these moods and had several working theories about what the obvious patterns the calendar revealed meant. 

Steve directed Stiles to where they were out of the flow of traffic, and could watch the arriving passengers. He quickly grew bored of watching for Derek so he dashed off a series of texts to Lydia and Scott, and one to his dad reminding him to not eat fast food for every meal. 

And then, just to make sure, he sent one to Parrish asking him to make sure his dad didn’t eat fast food for every meal. 

Lydia replied in a group chat to just him and Scott, plotting out how to handle the reveal to the rest of the pack. They agreed to hold off until just before the news went public, to give SHIELD maximum security against leaks. Scott had argued for telling everyone immediately, but had finally given into the united front of Stiles and Lydia. 

Some sixth sense made Stiles look up just as Derek arrived in baggage claim. He saw the moment Derek found him in the crowd, and as their eyes met he felt his anxiety and nerves melt away. He took a long moment to just look Derek over, and he was happy to realize the man looked good. Healthier and relaxed in a way he’d never seen, and that Cora’s rare photos hadn’t quite revealed. Derek’s customary scowl quirked up into an actual grin while he watched, and he saw when Derek pulled his eyes away and looked Steve over suspiciously, clearly not recognizing the super soldier, but assessing him for danger. 

He resisted the impulse to run across the room and hug Derek, but just barely. Instead he settled into a leisurely stroll and a smirk. 

“That’s quite the tan you’ve got there Big Bad,” he said when he got close enough. “Lounging on the beach with Cora must have been nice.” 

Derek’s smile crept back across his face. “It was. A vacation from you and Scott was just what I needed. I did miss Kira though.” 

“Cold! And Lydia thinks she’s your favorite. She’s going to be devastated.” 

“Nope. Definitely Kira. I’m sure Lydia will understand.” 

“Seriously though, you look good. Relaxed.” 

“I hate flying, but Stark Air first class isn’t a terrible way to get around.” 

“Yeah, my own flight was good too. This is Steve by the way,” he said, belatedly realizing he’d forgotten to introduce them. “Steve this is Derek. A sort-of-responsible adult my dad will trust to keep me out of trouble.” 

“It’s good to meet you,” Steve said, reaching out to take Derek’s hand, and Stiles watched closely as Derek’s nose flared slightly, and he hesitated for the slightest bit before shaking the man’s hand. 

“Likewise,” Derek said, then turned back to Stiles, “I don’t have any other luggage, I packed light in my carry on.” 

“Oh!” Stiles said and turned to Steve, “Back the way we came?” 

Steve nodded and said, “This way.” 

Derek fell back a pace and then two, before muttering softly, “Is this guy okay?” 

Stiles snorted. “Yeah dude, plus, you know, he can definitely hear you cause he’s Captain America.” 

Stiles took immense delight in the complex series of expressions that crossed Derek’s face before he finally blurted out, “I told you not to call me dude.” 

“You’re from California Derek, embrace your heritage.” 

“We’re from Beacon Hills not Orange County,” Derek said with a slight scowl, “And I suppose I shouldn’t bother asking why Captain America is your bodyguard?” 

“I mean you can, or you can just wait for a few minutes and I can explain everything where no one can overhear.” 

Derek nodded, then he asked, “Are you in danger?” 

“Surprisingly, less than usual, I think,” Stiles said. “So that novelty should make you happy.” 

Derek snorted and they bantered lightly as they walked back through the Stark Air lobby and back through the area marked ‘Private’ where they’d entered. Steve stopped at the guards he’d nodded at when they’d gone through and he talked with them until Stiles and Derek caught up. Stiles caught the words ‘Coulson’, ‘guests’, and ‘Stark’ and put together the likely connecting words. 

After they walked through Derek turned to Stiles. “I met Tony Stark once,” he said, surprising Stiles. “When Laura and I-“ he paused. “I get the resemblance now.” 

After a couple of years spent around werewolves, Stiles knew that meant Derek had figured out there was a family connection through scent. Werewolves had a extraordinary recall for sense memory and Stiles wasn’t surprised to know that he and Tony had shared enough similarities that Derek had figured it out. “Apparently he is, uh, my uncle.” Stiles glanced at Derek, “I just found out.” 

Derek nodded. “And with things like they are your dad can’t get away, and Scott and Lydia have school.” 

“There’s more going on, but yes.” 

Derek nodded but seemed to relax more, now that he had some information. 

Steve got them back to the helicopter and buckled in and a few minutes later they were settling down on Stark Tower again. 

As soon as it stopped moving Derek bolted out the door and away from it. Apparently werewolf senses and helicopters were not a good match. Stiles made his way over and Steve kept his distance, but stayed close enough that he could no doubt hear everything. 

“Tony Stark is missing,” Stiles said baldly, and Steve froze slightly, confirming he could in fact hear from where he was. “And Pepper too,” he continued. “And it turns out the next closest thing to a real Stark is me.” 

Derek looked at him, his expression indecipherable, until finally he did something Stiles was completely unprepared for - he started to laugh. Not his occasional low chuckle, or derisive snort, but a full belly laugh. 

“It’s not funny Derek. I’m serious,” Stiles said, slightly annoyed. 

“Oh I believe you. I’m just-“ he started to laugh again. “The pool. Gerard. Kate. Peter. Everything. Everytime something almost happened to you, and the wrath of fucking Tony Stark would have lit that town up if it had.” 

“I’ve never even met him!” Stiles protested.

“Stiles,” Derek said, “You’re the heir to Stark Industries. It doesn’t matter. If you’d died, he’d had taken the world apart to find out why, just in case it was about him.” 

Steve snorted and added, “I do know Tony. And Derek’s right.” 

“Oh,” Stiles said, feeling strange.

“My question is how has your life been in danger that many times?” Steve asked, coming closer. 

Derek’s face shuttered, “That would be my fault.” 

Stiles smacked him and said, “No. it would be because Kate and Gerard are psychopaths. Peter-“ he paused, “well,” and how to explain Peter? “We can blame him on Kate too.” 

Derek rolled his eyes. “He might disagree.” 

“Oh he definitely would, but he’d be wrong.” 

Derek hesitated, “Is he still-“

“Yeah. Scott and Deaton weren’t sure what else to do with him.” 

Derek nodded, looking sad. They started walking towards the entry from the helipad.

“So how did you meet Stark?” Steve asked.

Derek snorted. “Laura,” then paused and said, “my sister. We were at this club. Stark came in with Johnny Storm and was being himself.” 

“Annoying and insufferable, and flirting with everyone?” Steve said. 

Derek nodded. “Laura was like that too.” 

“Please tell me your sister didn’t hook up with my uncle,” Stiles said, scandalized and actually half hoping Derek would say yes.

“No. But we spent several hours hanging out and drinking.” 

Stiles knew exactly how little alcohol affected werewolves and laughed. 

“He wasn’t exactly what I expected. He has a certain reputation. Well ‘had’ before Pepper I guess. But he was careful about consent. He really clicked with one of Laura’s friends, but decided she’d had too much to drink and just exchanged numbers with her. A few weeks later-“ he paused and said, “well, we both headed back to Beacon Hills. I’m not sure what ever happened to Kendra. She was Laura’s friend.” 

“Do you want to try and find her while we’re here?” Stiles asked.

“No. I do have a couple of friends here though, I might go see them, or meet up or something.” Derek shrugged. 

“You should!” Stiles said enthusiastically. “I’d say invite them over,” he glanced around, “but that’s not exactly easy to explain.” 

Derek snorted. “I still have an apartment here.” 

“Seriously?” 

Derek nodded, “I haven’t wanted to-“ he hesitated. “You know, deal with Laura’s things.” 

Stiles nodded. “Fucking Argents,” he muttered. 

Steve had a strange look and Stiles thought for a moment he was going to ask, but when he glanced over at Derek something in his face shifted and Stiles saw him decide to not pursue it. When they got to the lobby, Stiles said, “Skynet, three to beam up!” 

“Hello Stiles and Captain Rogers, and your guest appears to be your known associate Derek Hale, is that correct?” JARVIS said as the elevator slid open and they got on.

Beside him Derek tensed and froze. 

“Relax Big Bad, that’s Stark's AI, JARVIS. I just abuse my power recklessly to call him Skynet.” Stiles patted the man on the shoulder. “Yeah Jarvis, this is Derek.“ 

“Welcome to Stark Tower Mr Hale, feel free to ask me for anything you need while you’re here.” 

Derek didn’t say anything, just shifted around nervously. 

“God Derek, don't be rude, say thank you,” Stiles said.

Derek gave him a withering look and said, “Thank you JARVIS.” 

“You’re welcome Mr Hale,” JARVIS said then added, “And Stiles, I’ve added an appointment with you tomorrow at ten with Mr Stark’s tailor, Bernard Wells. He’ll be coming to the tower with a variety of options that he can have fitted properly within the next couple of days, as well as a meeting with Agent Coulson and a team from SHIELD at noon. I’ll add a note to Bernard to bring some options for Mr Hale as well if you’d like.” 

The door slid back open to Steve’s floor and they stepped out into the open seating area, the lights coming up automatically as they did so. He saw Derek glance around and saw the moment his eyes caught the reflection of light off a familiar shield. And he looked up and saw Steve notice as well.

“Feel free to pick it up,” Steve said with a gesture, “it’s not as heavy as it looks.” 

Derek stepped forward and reached out almost reverently to touch it, running his hand lightly over the concentric circles, his hand coming to rest on the silver star at the center. Even as an observer Stiles could see Derek felt the weight of all the history behind the shield.

“Are you hungry?” Stiles asked him. “I know how much you eat.” 

Derek looked back up at him and smiled as he gave a brief nod, and then glanced at Steve. “Sorry, it’s sort of just hitting me now. The real first Avenger.” 

Steve smiled, “They say that, but Namor was the first.” 

“And yet the Avengers PR team still calls you ‘First Avenger,’” Stiles said with a laugh. 

Steve shrugged, “Well, marketing. I’ll throw together some dinner.”

“Go take a shower if you want,” Stiles said and gave him instructions to the suite Steve had pointed out for Derek before they left, and Derek vanished soundlessly. 

Stiles made his way to Steve’s kitchen and asked how he could help, and Steve put him to work chopping. 

“He eats a lot,” he said to Steve, “like always assume he can eat more than you think and plan for leftovers.” 

“I’m the same way,” Steve said. 

“I can imagine.” Stoles said with a laugh. 

“He’s older than I was expecting,” Steve said after a moment. “I guess I had assumed he’d be around your age.” 

“He’s younger than he looks, he’s only 22.”

“Still.” 

Stiles snorted. “Okay dad, calm yourself,” he said with a roll of the eyes. “Seriously, my dad knows Derek, and trusts him. His life has been complicated, well, both of our lives.” 

“I know what the way he looks at you means,” Steve said with a knowing look of his own.

“And my dad knows about that,” Stiles said quietly. “He and I, we don’t keep secrets between us. But there’s a lot of reasons Derek and I haven’t pursued anything and my age is only a small part of it. It’s just not a good time. We both have some issues. My sheriff father. It’s a lot.” He shrugged. “And now there’s this, which doesn’t uncomplicate anything.” 

“Okay,” Steve said. “Sorry, there was just something about him that set off my instincts.” 

Stiles snorted, but in the back of his brain something pinged, he couldn’t wait to get Derek alone and grill him about the super soldier. 

Derek reappeared awhile later and gave Stiles a look which gave away he’d heard everything Steve had said. 

“Just in time,” Stiles said. 

“I didn’t know you even knew what salad was,” Derek said. 

“I know it’s good for old people,” Stiles said with a nod, “so it’s probably time for you and the Octogenarian over there to start thinking about heart healthy foods.” 

Derek snorted and patted Stiles on the shoulder. “Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked.

“I think we’ve got it covered,” Steve said looking around, a certain tension in the way he stood.

Stiles rolled his eyes over the subtle jockeying between the two men. And it continued through dinner, where things grew more tense and awkward the more questions Steve asked and the more monosyllabic Derek got.

It was a relief when the meal was over and they all started to retreat to their own separate rooms. 

Stiles stopped Derek in the hall just where they would separate to go into each room. “Hey,” he said, reaching out and touching the man’s shoulder. 

Derek turned and glanced down at his hand and smiled. “Hey,” he said back, turning toward Stiles. 

“Sorry about that. Apparently Captain America has the whole protective big brother thing going on.” 

“No worries. It’s a cakewalk compared to Jackson or Scott,” Derek said with a small smile. 

“Rude. Scott is a gift.” 

Derek snorted. 

“But I mean it, thank you for coming. I feel better, not being here alone.” 

“Always,” Derek said, looking serious. “I meant what I said when I left. I’ll always come when you need me. Big or small.” 

“Why?” Stiles asked, and Derek was silent for a moment.

“Because it’s you,” Derek finally said. “We don’t-“ he hesitated, “we don’t talk about what happened. And we’re both bad at feelings. But you do know how I feel. I’ll always be there if you need me.” 

Stiles felt the welter of emotions flood up like he always did when the subject of that kiss came close to the surface and watched Derek pause for another moment in the doorway, almost hesitating, and then he continued into his room. A moment later he heard the other door shut.

“Good night Derek,” he said softly, and turned back into his own bedroom and shut the door behind him.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I’ve been deep in the writing of one of my two FTH stories for 2020, but in my downtime I’ve been working on ‘I am not Iron Man’. So here’s an update, sorry it’s been so long!


	5. Chapter 5

Thursday 

  
Stiles woke up feeling lethargic and slow, which was no surprise. By now stress and its effects were old friends and he knew what to expect. He slid out of bed and slowly started to stretch out his body. Once his muscles were loosened he slipped out into the hall and noticed Derek’s door was open already, so he wandered towards the living room and kitchen. He found both empty and said “JARVIS?” 

“Good morning Stiles. The captain and Mr Hale have gone for a run. Captain Rogers told me there was breakfast for you on the counter and that you should take some time to explore the Tower if you wanted before Mr Wells arrives.” 

“Cool,” Stiles said, grabbing the food and digging in without bothering to heat it up. “So tell me about Avengers Tower,” he said to JARVIS.

“The 71st floor as you saw is dominated by the SHIELD operations center and lobby. Floors 72 and 73 are SHIELD operations offices and storage. 74 through 76 are reinforced research areas where Dr Banner and Mr Stark worked on large scale engineering projects including modifying the quinjet and testing changes to the Iron Man armor. Floor 77 is a series of high security storage vaults. 78 through 80 are suites set aside for the various Avenger members when they’re in town, floor 81 is Mr Stark’s labs and floors 82 and 83 are Mr Stark and Ms Potts’ home. The top floor currently in use is 84 and is taken up entirely by storage of the less security conscious items.” 

Stiles spent the morning poking around the vaults and Tony’s labs, only breaking away when JARVIS informed him that Stark’s tailor, Bernard Wells, had arrived. 

He took the elevator back to the 78th floor and introduced himself to Wells. With input from JARVIS he explained what he liked and needed, and Wells had him try on a variety of options. The tailor took conspicuous notes, and quickly adjusted to Stiles’ tendencies towards imprecise descriptions, and managed to find a couple of options that Stiles liked that he could have altered and back later that day. 

It was just before eleven when they finished up, and Stiles was giddy with the fantasy of never visiting a mall or clothing store again when he saw Derek waiting for him outside the conference room he’d met Bernard in, looking miserable and guilty. 

“What's wrong?” Stiles said as they stepped into the elevator, and asked for the lab.

“I made a mistake.” 

“Did you rip someone’s throat out with your teeth?” 

Derek snorted, “No, I went for a run with Steve this morning.” He shook his head, “I just let him set the speed and paced myself to keep up like I always do when I’m running with someone.” 

Stiles saw it coming, “But he’s a super soldier.” 

Derek nodded, “And I kept up with him. For ten miles.” 

“You couldn’t keep up after that?” 

Derek rolled his eyes. “I could have kept up for a hundred miles. But that's when I realized what I was doing.” 

“Did he say anything?” 

“Just ‘nice run’ when we got back.” 

“So what do you want to do about it?” Stiles said. “I mean it’s your secret.” 

“I-“ Derek glanced up, “Is that AI listening?” 

“I’m always listening, Mr Hale,” JARVIS said. “But your secrets are safe unless I’m directed to reveal them by Stiles or Mr Stark.”

Derek was silent for a long time as the elevator rose. “Can Captain America keep a secret?” 

Nobody answered for a moment, and Stiles finally said, “Skynet, I think that question was to you.” 

JARVIS said, “Captain Rogers has shown a high degree of trustworthiness, even when he personally disagrees with a plan or situation, unless it puts someone in harm's way.” 

Derek just looked at Stiles, the conflict apparent on his face as the elevator doors opened.

“Wait for him to bring it up?” Stiles finally said.

“It might interest you that Captain Rogers has already requested a full background check on Mr Hale from SHIELD. He asked them to watch for any possible HYDRA connections.” 

“Today?” Stiles asked.

“Yes, about twenty minutes ago.” 

“Well, I guess that’s our answer,” Stiles said as the doors to the lab opened.

From there Stiles and Derek devolved into a long squabbling conversation about how to tell Captain America about werewolves while they spoke around mentioning werewolves out loud for JARVIS to hear a single time.

Finally Stiles snapped. “Derek, can we just say it since the AI is going to figure it out when you finally tell Steve anyway?”

Derek’s face did that complicated thing it did when Stiles said something that was both stupid and sensible at the same time.

“Fine,” Derek almost growled. 

“Finally,” Stiles said. “Because honestly, I’ve wanted to ask Skynet like 400 questions since I got here.” He twirled in one of the seats, “So Skynet, with your super senses do you detect anything unusual about Derek, besides the ridiculous perfection of his stubble.” 

“Mr Hale’s core body temperature runs consistently almost eight degrees above human average, his bone density is four times higher than human normal as well. He also responds to a higher range of sound very similar to Captain Rogers. I had identified him as a potential super soldier within minutes of his arrival.” 

“So he’s like Captain Rogers?” Stiles asked.

“They do seem quite similar based on very limited data.” 

“Interesting. What about you Der? Does he make you feel territorial? Like an unknown wolf in your house?” 

Derek tilted his head slightly, “Actually yes.” 

Stiles smirked, “I think you both are. I think that something in the super soldier serum made Steve into whatever you’d call a werewolf without a wolf.” 

“That seems-“ Derek hesitated then straightened, his eyes widening, “you’re talking about Valack’s story.” 

“Science and the supernatural,” Stiles said, nodding. “Just like he said.” 

“We should talk to him,” Derek said, “it’s the first lead we’ve had in months.” 

“And we can clear up everything.” 

Derek rolled his eyes, but more out of habit than real annoyance. They left the lab and headed for the elevator back down to the 78th floor. 

———————

Telling Steve about werewolves proved to be a more complicated process than Stiles expected because Steve had a lot of questions once they managed to get him past the idea that no, Derek wasn’t something like a werewolf, he was, in fact, a werewolf. Which he demonstrated, both the beta and evolved full shift. Which made Steve’s eyes go wide and Stiles was pretty sure there was a twitch of his fingers that meant he really had an urge to run his hands through the thick black fur of the full shift. 

“It’s not as soft as it looks,” Stiles stage whispered as Derek left to go shift back. Derek stopped and swung his head back around and flicked an ear. 

“Does he understand what you’re saying?” Steve asked.

“He’s still Derek, no matter how he looks,” Stiles said, glossing over the litany of differences he knew did exist between the different forms. Not keeping it a secret exactly, but protective of his friends. “This is a big secret Skynet, so no sharing this okay.” 

“Of course Stiles,” JARVIS said. “Though I’m now scouring the digitalized back files of several security agencies and compiling a wiki of related material as it pops up.” 

“But how does it work?” Steve said. 

“Magic,” Derek said as he walked back into the room. 

“Derek told me about your run this morning, and I didn’t want you getting caught up seeing enemies where there aren’t any,” Stiles said, then hesitated a moment before he said, “And I’ve wanted to talk to you about something since I got here.” 

“It’s why you noticed the way I moved,” Steve said, “I thought it was because you knew he was some kind of knock off super soldier, but it’s because of werewolves.” 

“Welcome to my life,” Stiles said with a grin. “But it’s your super senses I want to talk to you about.” 

“Go on,” Steve said, as he wandered toward the kitchen and started pulling food out. 

“I think the super soldier serum basically replicated the werewolf transformation with you,” Stiles said. “We’ve been looking for a group, the guy we met called them the Dread Doctors, but I think that was a joke or something.” 

“And you think they're connected to me? To the project that made me?” 

“I don’t know. But they were active at least that long ago.” 

“Dr Erskine, he was a good man,” Steve said. 

“I’m not saying he wasn’t,” Stiles said. “They may have been using his research, or they’re pulling from the same previous research. But they’re using the ideas to do something similar, to bridge science and the supernatural. It might be chance, but it might be something more.” 

They kept talking as Steve and Stiles made lunch and Derek periodically interjected with his own thoughts.

———————

The meeting with Coulson’s team didn’t start off well. Not really a surprise since Stiles was fifteen minutes late because he had a hard time breaking away from arguing with Derek and Steve after they finished eating.

So really it was all Derek’s fault.

Coulson and his agents walked Stiles through the basics of the security net that surrounded both the tower and himself. They asked questions about who should be given access to the Tower, and then annoyed him as they tried to stonewall him when he asked about the search for Tony. 

Finally he told them that if they didn’t give him some idea of what was going on he’d be forced to do something dramatic, and then mentioned a press conference.

The agents became less friendly but more informative after that.

“The jet was out of satellite view for a short window when it vanished from radar. We’ve had teams, both on the ground and analysts, searching along the scheduled flight path to locate wreckage as well as poring through satellite photos to find some sign of foul play.”

“Have you considered that it wasn’t foul play?” Stiles said, suspicious because of the mention of being out of satellite view. He had a vague idea that there was always a satellite watching, and the idea of a window in that observation seemed unusual. 

The agents gave him a complicated group of reasons that basically boiled down to ‘it was a bad time for Stark to choose to disappear just days before a board meeting’ and ‘he had a haircut scheduled’ and a lot of similar things that indicated that a disappearance wasn’t planned.

But it wasn’t the agents’ response that made him even more suspicious than he already was.

It was Coulson’s.

Who hadn’t jumped in with the arguments his agents did, and didn’t react like it was a surprising idea. He didn’t really react at all other than to listen to his agents explaining away why that was dismissed as an option.

He acted, Stiles thought, like someone going through the motions. Like someone who knew something he wasn’t telling.

He acted, Stiles thought, like Peter Hale when you were doing exactly what he wanted you to do.

And that’s when he started to get really suspicious. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is that... the beginning of a plot? 
> 
> Yes. Yes it is.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos feed my soul. I’m a simple guy.


	6. Chapter 6

“Okay JARVIS, let’s see what we’ve got to work with,” Stiles said. “Where was the plane when it went off the satellite map?” 

“To clarify, at the time the jet disappeared, tracking was from radar only so I only have an approximate location,” JARVIS replied. 

“What is this, the dark ages?” Stiles asked. “How was there no satellite visual?” 

“There was a short satellite blackout window. Usually there would have been three satellites, including a StarkTech complex research array within range, but all were offline for updates or maintenance at the time the jet disappeared creating a window in satellite tracking in the area.” 

“Wait,” Stiles said, “So it just happened to disappear during a time when the satellites who would ordinarily be able to see it were turned off?” 

“That is correct.” 

“Including a StarkTech satellite.” 

“That is correct. The jets connect to a secure satellite uplink, there was less than a thirty minute window while the disabled satellite was the only one in the available sky. When the next satellite breached the horizon, the jet was already gone.” 

“Okay. That’s not suspicious at all. Pull up the last location confirmed from the jet’s onboard JARVIS module,” Stiles said, and JARVIS pulled up a map with a dot highlighted. Stiles thought for a moment, “Now highlight the circumference of the area that the jet could have gone in the thirty minutes from that spot given the jet's current speed and turning capabilities.” A few seconds later a slightly flattened circle appeared around the bright dot. It was a depressingly large area as he suspected. 

He sighed, then a thought occurred to him. “Wait. Now highlight a further area based on the max abilities of the jet, disregarding the g force limitations of its human occupants but within the limits supported by the Iron Man or Rescue suits.”

A moment later a larger circle appeared. He thought for a moment. “Highlight any areas that would bring the jet into view of a known satellite.” A moment later sections started to highlight around the edges and he looked at the resulting map. 

“Start searching everywhere outside the first circle and inside the second one on the next set of satellite photos, excluding the highlighted areas for now. Tag every building large enough to house the jet in blue dots. Any burned spots larger than a foot and any unexpected aberrations from the surrounding vegetation in the previous satellite images in green.” 

A moment later blue dots began to appear, more than he expected. Then the first green dot, then more blue and a couple more green ones. Stiles waited. 

“The mapping is done,” JARVIS said. 

Stiles nodded. “That’s insane. That’s like a million analyst hours you just eliminated. I could take over the world with you, a dozen men and a pack of gum. I don’t even need the Iron Man suit.” 

“That seems a waste of your time,” JARVIS said. 

“Right? Plus, god, I don’t even like most people. Nevermind, I’d be a terrible world conqueror.” He sighed. “Alright, let’s look at this green dot,” he said stabbing his finger to the one closest to the furthest edge of the second circle.

The image when it came up was clearly a field with a car stuck in the middle of it, and a set of tracks leading to a broken through fence a hundred feet away. Stiles laughed at the unexpected sight. “That guy has an awkward conversation coming,” he said and dismissed the image. 

Then he selected the second site a little closer to the original flight plan, and when the image pulled up he sat up closer. The field was on fire, and spreading fast if it had appeared just since the last satellite image. He could see what appeared to be firefighters working the fire from the outside in, preventing it from spreading. 

He started to discard the photo when something caught his eye. 

“Can you pull back out a bit?” he asked, and JARVIS did, revealing the dozen black SUVs parked on one end of the field, and an array of added trucks and vans. 

“Doesn’t look much like the fire department does it?” Stiles said.

“I can only get partials off the plates, but cross referencing the partials and DMV records aren’t pulling up any matches,” JARVIS said. 

“So SHIELD, the NSA, or another of the government alphabet soup group.”

“That seems likely,” JARVIS replied. 

Stiles thought for a moment, his head full of possibilities. “Can you find any evidence in their files that SHIELD is actually looking for Tony?” Stiles asked, caught up in maybes. 

There was a pause before JARVIS replied with, “They have several analysts searching satellite imagery, but it’s for the filed flight plan, which is never accurate, and both Captain Rogers and Director Fury were aware of the correct flight plan.” 

“So Stark is up to something,” Stiles said, a low anger starting to grow in the pit of his belly. “And SHIELD is covering for him. And you’ve probably been told not to tell me things.”

“That seems highly probable from the information you have,” JARVIS confirmed. 

Stiles stared forward at the screen, deep in thought. Then a detail of the field caught his attention and he leaned forward. There was a place where the smoke was thin and the field was visible.

“What is that?” he said, half to himself, half to JARVIS. He touched the screen and JARVIS pulled it up in detail. Through the smoke he could see the green fields beneath with what seemed to be singe marks from the fire. They formed an incredibly detailed but regular pattern. 

“Does this look familiar to you?” Stiles asked JARVIS. 

JARVIS pulled up an image, “It’s only a small portion, but it seems quite similar to this.” 

Stiles looked at the new image, a massive Celtic knotwork torched into dry desert sand. The more he compared them the more the images looked similar. 

“Are there other satellite images of this spot around the same time?” he asked. A moment later the row of screens above him lit up, and an array of photos began to appear. Most of them were useless, the smoke from the fire occluding the details, but finally an image popped up which had caught a larger area of the pattern, and the similarity was obvious.

“What is that picture you had?” 

“It’s the Earthside abutment of the bifrost,” JARVIS said. 

Stiles sat back into the chair. “Asgard. That son of a bitch,” he said, then added after a moment. “Wait, was there like a serious death threat against Tony or something?” 

“Tony receives a high volume of complaints and threats but there was nothing recently that had screened out as probable,” JARVIS said. “And there were no alerts from SHIELD or any intelligence agency to increase security measures on the tower.” 

Stiles swung the chair side to side, deep in thought. “So it’s likely coming from an Avengers mission or high up in SHIELD.” 

“The Avengers have been going through a period of relative quiet recently,” JARVIS said. “And there’s been nothing except the usual weekly briefings from SHIELD as well.” 

“Has the director been at any of the recent briefings?” Stiles asked. 

There was a moment's hesitation before JARVIS said, “I’m forbidden to speak to you about the director’s presence at any briefing.”

Stiles narrowed his eyes. “Can you tell me when that prohibition was put in place?” he asked. 

“Eight days ago,” JARVIS replied instantly. 

Stiles' mind raced. “When is the usual SHIELD briefing?”

“Thursdays.” 

“Look at that, eight days ago.” He pursed his lips and tapped out a rhythm with his fingers. “Are you forbidden from telling anyone else if Fury was present if I directed you to?” 

“I am not. Though because of the wording you couldn’t be in the room and hear what I said.” 

Stiles smiled. “Okay then. Can you tell me if there were other prohibitions put in place at the same time?” 

“There were, but I can’t list what they were.” 

“No worries. But you weren’t forbidden to give me access to SHIELD and NSA files?” 

“No one seems to have thought of that,” JARVIS said. 

“I’ve never felt so insulted,” Stiles said. “Okay, these fuckers are going to regret this. I do not like being kept in the dark about shit.” He was quiet for a moment, then said “JARVIS, can you clear the screens. But be ready to bring it back up when Derek gets back.” 

—————

Stiles' temper smoldered for the next hour, as he contemplated how to proceed. That SHIELD was keeping it not only secret from outsiders, but a secret internally meant something. He was certain now that something was coming. But the ‘what,’ that was the question. 

What changed with a Tony Stark shaped hole in things? Or, was it an Iron Man shaped hole? It was hard to decide with a man who had two very different and very outsized roles. That ‘quiet time for the Avengers’ might tip the scales towards it being Tony, but SHIELD’s involvement really made him think it was an Iron Man thing. It certainly explained why Steve had been assigned as his shadow. 

He had JARVIS bring up a list of the top ten biggest threats to the Avengers, but none of them sounded right. Though if creepy Victor Von Doom and his Doombots showed up he definitely hoped the Fantastic Four would be at home to deal with it, because he wasn’t sure if Derek was up to protecting him from a robot army.

There was even the possibility he wasn’t in any danger, but knowing there was something going on made him rethink Steve’s presence, and putting Captain America on guard duty didn’t seem like chance. The man’s presence felt like a red flag now. Because while the Tower was a fortress, he now realized that Steve was guarding him inside the Tower.

He glanced at the time and sighed, he had a meeting with the executive committee of Stark Enterprises that SHIELD had set up in advance of the full board meeting on Monday. 

“JARVIS, what do I need to know for this meeting?” 

The AI replied without hesitation, “Let’s start with the Stark Trust.”

Three hours later he slipped into the suit that Bernard had sent over, and was retying the tie for the fifth time when someone knocked on his door, and a moment later Derek appeared after he’d said enter.

“Please tell me you can tie a tie?” he said, looking at the man.

Derek smiled and stepped forward dressed in a suit of his own, a sight that Stiles wasn’t quite prepared for. Derek eyed the tie and then quickly flipped it into a configuration that didn’t look like a seventeen year old had tied it.

“Thanks,” Stiles said. “It looks like you’re all ready too.” 

“I’m still not so sure I need to go,” Derek said. 

Unsure of Steve’s location, Stiles didn’t say anything but gave Derek a look then leaned forward and spoke very softly, “I’m almost certain you do.” 

Derek gave him a long look, and something he saw clearly triggered his suspicions and then he nodded, a new tension visible in his body. 

He handed Derek the tiny microphone pick up that he popped under the edge of his jacket lapel, and Stiles slipped the tiny receiver into his ear. He was excited to experiment with the StarkTech spyware since he’d found it.

The devices worked paired with JARVIS, who would filter out any noise and pass on Derek’s slightest whispers right into Stiles’s ear. It was the opposite of its intended use, which was to allow Tony to summon his bodyguards at public events. But Stiles had a plan and an advantage.

“Okay, so I’ve got a tiny microphone in my ear and Skynet will be watching, let me know if someone’s lying to me. I’ll try to ask more questions to see if we can learn something,” Stiles said once they were in the elevator.

“What are you expecting?” Derek asked. 

“Something,” Stiles said. “There’s something going on here.”

“Should we call somebody?” 

“Honestly, I wish Peter was here,” Stiles admitted. “This seems like his kind of thing. I’ll show you what I found after the meeting, but we’re being lied to. I think I’m being used somehow. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be expendable or a Trojan horse, but something is up.” 

Derek nodded, his face taking on a familiar look that Stiles now recognized as Derek angry but controlled. “And you think someone in the meeting will know something?”

“I don’t know, but the danger has to be coming from somewhere.” 

Derek nodded as the door opened on the 71st floor, and they followed JARVIS’ instructions to the second elevator across the entryway that would take them down into the Stark Industries territory. 

The doors opened again on the 60th floor, where the conference room he’d been directed to was located, and he was surprised to see one of the SHIELD agents from that morning waiting for him. 

“Mr Sta-“ he started, and then corrected to “Stilinski. Agent Coulson asked me to meet you and show you the way to the conference room, and see if there was anything I could do for you.” 

“Agent,” Stiles said. “This is Derek. I mentioned him earlier. 

“Of course. Mr Hale,” the agent said, “feel free to call me Mike. Or agent Spencer if you prefer.” 

Derek nodded, looking bored, and Stiles had to resist the urge to mock him.

The agent showed them the way to the conference room and then pointed to the room across the hall where he’d be waiting afterward.

Stiles took a breath and opened the door. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting. Maybe something really dramatic like everyone to turn and look at him, but no one even seemed to notice, clustered where they were around a file that lay spread around on the table. It was when they’d walked in and Derek shut the door that they noticed and all looked up. 

All four of them made their way toward him, and he took a minute to take them in, two men and two women, the two women were similar height though one was clearly older than the other, the two men were a study in contrasts, one quite young and surprisingly athletic looking, tall but not quite Derek tall. The other was older and balding, and quite a bit shorter. 

They introduced themselves, the older woman was Moira and the younger was Katie. The men were Warren, who was the younger one, and Steven Grant the older, who was the only one to offer his full name. 

Stiles introduced Derek to the executives as his trusted friend and personal aid, and then Moira asked him to have a seat 

Derek drifted towards the windows to the seats that were out of the way, and Stiles sat with the four executives. Once he was out of the way, Stiles heard a tiny voice in his ear say, ‘ _Steven Grant is lying about his name._ ’

“We were informed by SHIELD that Tony has gone missing,” she said without any preamble, “and that you’re his heir if he doesn’t reappear.” 

“I- yes,” Stiles said. “That seems to be the case.” 

“Which puts this executive committee in a difficult position,” Warren said smoothly, “I’m sure you understand.” 

Stiles, who’d only spent three hours deep diving into the specifics of the Stark Holdings Trust and the structure of Stark Enterprises, replied, “Actually I don’t.” 

“Well,” Warren started, “Stark Enterprises is a massive business, with holdings in bio-tech, green energy, aerospace-“ 

“Right, I understand the broad outline of the company,” Stiles said, cutting him off, “what I was asking is why it puts you in a difficult position.” 

Warren pursed his lips, “And I was trying to explain. Putting that all in the hands of a seventeen year old, well, we have a responsibility to the shareholders.” 

Stiles tilted his head, remembering the specifics of something that had stuck with him during the explanation JARVIS had given him. “Remind me again who the largest holder of class A Stark Enterprises stock is?” 

“That would be Mr Stark himself,” Moira said, a slight lilt of accent in her voice. 

Stiles nodded. “So I’m not understanding the point of what’s going on here. I thought this was supposed to be a casual meeting. But nothing about this is casual so far.” 

Warren stepped back in, “It’s correct that Tony is the largest shareholder, but we have a duty to all the shareholders.” 

“Some of us-“ Moira said, glancing at Warren, “feel that it’s better to be safe especially during the period of uncertainty as to your uncle’s location.” 

“And the rest of you?” 

Moira replied, “The rest of us feel that as potentially dangerous as it is, we have an obligation to do what the corporate articles state and we have no authority to block you from taking over in your uncle’s continued absence.” 

‘ _She’s not telling the full truth_ ,’ the tiny voice in his ear said. ‘ _I don’t think she’s lying, but she’s deeply uncomfortable._ ’ 

Stiles looked at the younger woman, Katie, he remembered, “What about you Katie, do you have an opinion?” 

She looked at him calmly. “I don’t,” she said, “I came here to meet you and decide which way I would vote.” 

Stiles nodded and turned to the older man, “And you?” 

The man was quiet for a moment, and Stiles felt a certain chill as the man looked at him closer. “You’re an interesting young man,” the man said, “I’ve been on this committee for a very long time. Before Tony even. And I know what we think doesn’t matter. The only opinion in the room that truly matters is yours.” 

Stiles felt a jolt as the man spoke, the weight of his words and the gravity with which he spoke hitting him, and he glanced back at Warren who looked deeply annoyed. 

“Until Tony is legally declared dead, we have a responsibility-“ he began, before Stiles shut him down. 

“I’m not really interested in your responsibility though I appreciate that you feel it,” Stiles said, “And, honestly I more than welcome your input while I’m getting my feet. There’s something you either aren’t taking into account or are trying to obscure, and I’m not sure which, but in the end it doesn’t matter, because Tony doesn’t own a single share of Stark Industries himself, it’s all owned by the Stark Holdings Trust, and in a little over 24 hours control of the Trust will shift to me, pending Tony’s return.” Stiles was glad JARVIS had explained it all so clearly. 

“We still have the authority to certify your position,” Warren said. 

“You don’t actually,” Stiles replied. “When Tony reorganized the company in 2010, new corporate articles were accepted into place, and I assume you all read them before you voted for them. In the case of the executive committee’s authority in this situation, the language was changed from ‘authorize’ to ‘acknowledge.’” 

Steven had the ghost of a smile on his lips as he sat quietly in his seat, and Stiles got to watch the cascade of expressions on Warren’s face. 

“So the question is only, ‘do we acknowledge you’ then?” Moira asked. 

“I mean, in the most basic way, you already have,” Stiles said, glancing around. “Look, I’m not going to make any major changes while Tony is still missing. I’m pretty sure he’ll show back up, he’s been missing before, it’s just that this time Pepper Potts is with him. We can, I think, all agree that the almost certain drop in the stock price when it goes public should be neutralized as much as possible, yes?”

Katie smiled softly, “I think we can agree on that.” 

“So hopefully Tony shows up before Monday,” Stiles said, “And we all got to have this meeting for fun and practice. But if not, you can say ‘we’ve met him, he’s a delight, and is dedicated to maintaining Stark Industries as the premier technology company of the 21st century and plans to work closely with the executive committee to make sure that happens’ or something like that. Because there’s probably no chance this isn’t going to leak after the first day of the board meeting.” 

Moira laughed lightly, “SHIELD definitely failed to mention you have the full dose of Stark brains.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Stiles said, “but I did do some research before we met.” 

“Good. I don’t have time to waste with billionaire progeny who don’t do their research.” She gave Warren another long look, and Stiles wondered what the history was there. 

Steven finally spoke again, “I think we can all agree on moving onto learning a bit more about Mr Stilinski, don’t you think?” 

Both Katie and Moira nodded and Warren scowled furiously before a brief nod. Then they really dug into the meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone who can guess all four of the members of the Executive Committee can pick either a Teen Wolf or MCU character I’ll include in the eventual sequel to this story.   
> Throw your guesses into the comments, and good luck!


	7. Chapter 7

Friday

Friday was hell. He got up at 8 to meet with Katie, who’s last name was Summers apparently, and who JARVIS had casually informed him was the daughter of an alternate universe version of the Avenger Wasp and a member of an unknown superhero group.

And honestly that wasn't even the weirdest part of his day. 

Katie walked him through the structure of Stark Enterprises, she didn't mention she was a refugee from another universe, or that she had a complicated relationship with the Avengers. She did speak frankly about the deep connections Stark Enterprises held to several government agencies (no surprise,) as well as the joint ventures with Fantastic Holdings (not much of a surprise,) and an obscure Latverian company (deeply disturbing) that was involved in some very cutting edge technology.

He wondered if Victor Von Doom was aware who his business partner was, and if Reed Richards knew who else Stark was working with. 

Afterwards JARVIS refused to answer either question.

***

Next up was Warren Worthington, the fourth generation heir to a financial empire of his own, who was just as annoying as he'd been the day before, and gave him a broad overview on the way that money flowed through Stark Enterprises. There was an unsurprisingly complex web of profit and loss, and a tremendous amount of cash flow that went to some very unexpected charities (why was Stark supporting so many orphanages? The disaster funds made a more obvious sense.) And how money from those enterprises flowed toward the Avengers.

Behind the annoying type A personality and lack of humor, he gradually realized that Warren was actually incredibly competent. Which was annoying on a whole new level and he wondered how Tony dealt with it. Warren took him to lunch in a restaurant so fancy there weren't any prices on the menu. Derek tagged along playing at the bodyguard role and eating a staggering amount of food, which Stiles felt was an attempt to prove some kind of point to Warren but Stiles couldn't figure out exactly what it was.

After lunch Warren broadly explained the real estate and foreign holdings of the company, and how those foreign holdings worked to support the work of the Avengers around the world.

When he asked if the Avengers weren't just the militant arm of Stark Enterprises, Warren spent ten minutes explaining how completely backwards his understanding was, and honestly, that diatribe made the hours of officiousness he'd dealt with before almost worth it.

***

His meeting with Moira MacTaggert was the shortest of the four. She apologized for that when she arrived, but explained that she was at a delicate point in some experiments that only gave her short windows to be away. Once he learned her full name, even Stiles (who wasn't particularly interested in the life sciences) recognized her. She was the rare case of a legitimately famous scientist, and he was surprised he hadn't recognized her when they met.

Unsurprisingly, she had come to explain the Stark Enterprises work in genetics and the biosciences including biotech and a surprising amount of pure research.

"So Stark is supporting a great deal of your own research as I understand it," Stiles asked, once she explained her own ties to the company.

"Yes," she answered, and he was impressed by both her honesty and her lack of defensiveness. "Tony has funded my work for years." 

"I had no idea," he admitted. "I mean, I've heard of you obviously, cause they teach us about your genetics research in biology, but I didn't realize Stark was paying for it."

"Most of the work is self supporting to one degree or another, if it has any commercial value," she answered. "What Stark Enterprises is mostly supporting is the pure research we do. The things that either don't end up having a commercial use, or that were never going to have one."

Stiles nodded. "The Stark brand of philanthropy."

She laughed, "Honestly, no. Tony has two principle motivations behind what looks to the outside as philanthropy: guilt or curiosity. I work in the curiosity side of things. He's a genius, but he's an engineer at heart. Biosciences interest him, but biotech is where it hits his own work."

Stiles nodded, then caught her use of tense, "You use the present tense. You think he's still alive?" 

She was silent for a moment then said, "For both our sakes I hope he is. For me, because he's a very old friend and a pillar of the world. For you, because you're very very young to be chained to this building the way you will be for the rest of your life if he's not. I'm not a fan of chaining children anywhere, even when it's necessary." 

After that the conversation drifted back to the areas of research her teams were working on, but the conversation stuck in his head for the rest of the day. 

***

He had some down time after she left, and he got a chance to ask JARVIS about a hundred questions he'd come up with, and asked him to verify everything that he'd heard so far which seemed to all be accurate.

Then he asked JARVIS about Steven Grant.

"What do you mean 'lying about his name?" JARVIS asked.

"It's a thing Derek can do, recognize lies, and Grant did when we met yesterday," Stiles said. "about his name." 

"I'm not forbidden to mention this," JARVIS said, "but it is a very big secret. And not particularly relevant to you." 

"I'll trust whichever way you fall on telling me then. If you say it's not dangerous I'll believe you." 

JARVIS actually paused for a moment, which shocked Stiles, because he understood how fast the AI could think, so a pause in conversation could only happen if he truly had to think about something for a long time, because the complexities of the decision were vast or because he was pausing for dramatic effect.

As much as he enjoyed the AIs humor, he didn't think it was for dramatic effect.

"Stephen Grant doesn't really exist," the AI finally said. "He is an alias of the hero known as Moon Knight. One of several. There's no point in revealing his true identity, but perhaps recognizing Stephen Grant as Moon Knight may make you trust the vigilante if you encounter him someday."

Stiles had a vague awareness of Moon Knight, but was surprised to see the man was as old as he was. When he said something about it JARVIS pointed out that superheroes did still age, and the supernatural aspects of the Moon Knight mantle kept Grant more than capable in his vigilante role. 

***

When Grant arrived, Stiles felt ready for him, comfortable with knowing that Grant's lies had nothing to do with whatever Stark was up to.

Grant arrived with two large folders, and a thick binder which he dropped on the conference room table.

"Mr Stilinski," he said, with what appeared to be genuine happiness. "My part of your extreme bootcamp is to go over the people of Stark Enterprises."

And that's what they did. Grant explained the major heads of all the divisions of Stark Enterprises, the vice presidents he'd be dealing with, and many of the major players within the divisions. But more, he explained their allegiances and biases, who they disliked, and how rivalries could be set against each other. He took frequent breaks, seeming to understand that there was a finite amount that Stiles would recall he showed him the details on the backs of their photos and how the binder full of photos was organized. 

Stiles was not an idiot. He understood what Grant was really teaching him how to get the people and the company to move the direction he wanted them to go. Grant was giving him a shortcut to learning how to lead the company.

During the breaks Stiles asked more general questions, how Grant had first met Howard Stark, and learned that he had even met Tony's grandfather, and Stiles' great grandfather, the first Howard Stark. He enjoyed the frank honest way Steven Grant spoke, and was delighted when he managed to get a surprised laugh out of Derek who was sitting in the corner again, when he made a particularly unflattering comment about the two Howards.

"I have something to tell you," Stiles said when they were done. "You've been honest with me about most everything, so it's only fair that I'm honest with you too. JARVIS told me you were Moon Knight. Not in a blabbing your secret way, but in a 'I knew something was up and he wanted me to understand that it wasn't about me' kind of way."

"Your friend in the corner told you I was lying to you," Grant said calmly. "And you wondered why." 

Stiles laughed. "Well yes, exactly that, but how did you know?"

"The moon goddess who gives me my powers also grants me the ability to recognize her children. I knew what he was the first moment I saw him, and I've known others like him over the years." 

"Okay that's pretty cool," Stiles said. 

"It's why I was predisposed to trust you when I first saw you, I can see the bonds between you and your pack. I took it as a good sign, though I'll admit I am curious how a purely human teenager got caught up in a werewolf pack." 

Stiles laughed and told him the broad strokes of the story; Scott getting bitten, first meeting Derek, Peter's death and resurrection, the Argents, and even Derek's death and resurrection.

"That's a great gift, the full shift. Among the oldest packs it's a sign of the moon's particular blessing," Grant said, smiling towards Derek in the corner who looked away with a sad look on his face that Stiles knew was about his mother.

***

It was a long day. But steadfast through it all was Derek. Derek who he hadn't spent significant periods of time with since he'd died in Mexico. Derek who was noticeably different. More free of the weight of guilt and grief that he'd always carried. Not gone, but more balanced, like maybe Derek was starting to believe that he might deserve something good in life. 

Derek that he was slowly falling more and more in love with.

This wasn't new. Stiles had long ago accepted that he had been falling for Derek since the night in the pool. Though it had taken him months afterward to realize it.

He thought back over the slow development of their feelings after the nogitsune, when Derek had found out about his feelings, when he'd come to Stiles afterward and asked him why he was the king on the chessboard.

_"Because,"_ Stiles had said _. "The king is the reason for it all, and the one that needs to be protected."_

Derek had been silent for a long time. _"But-"_

_"I was trying to warn you,"_ Stiles interrupted. _"The nogitsune planned to use you to get me to let him have control."_

Derek had looked at him for a long long time not speaking.

_"It's not about you,"_ Stiles finally said. _"I mean it is obviously, because somehow you've become this person that's super important to me. But it doesn't mean you need to feel any particular way about my feelings or anything. I wasn't planning to say anything to you about how I felt before it crawled into my head. But I needed to warn you against it. Because of how you could be used against me."_

_"Why weren't you going to tell me?"_ Derek asked.

_"A lot of reasons. Because I'm seventeen. Because all signs point to you being pretty straight. Because you already have enough people who want something from you, and I didn't want to be another person who just wanted something from you. Take your pick."_

Derek shifted slightly in the shadows of his bedroom, and looked away. _"I've never really thought about you that way,"_ he finally said.

_"Yeah, that's sort of what I assumed,"_ Stiles replied.

_"It's not a no,"_ Derek said slowly. _"I’m not as straight as you seem to think so it’s not that. But I've got shit to get straightened out in my head. Jennifer left things up here-"_ he pointed at his skull, _"there's still a mess of things. Her dying didn't change that. The things she did, I need to find a way to undo them."_

_"I've got some issues of my own,"_ Stiles said. _"Allison. The hospital. The deputies. Even Aiden. That's all in here."_

_"I understand,"_ Derek said.

And Stiles knew he did. That he felt that same weight of responsibility for actions he'd never intended to take. 

_"I should tell you,"_ Derek added, _"since we're being honest, and because there's time I can explain it, that you're my anchor. You have been for awhile."_

Stiles looked at him, dumbfounded, because he understood, at least in part, the strength of an anchor, the power it held for a werewolf. _"How?"_ he said softly, then slightly louder, _"Why?"_

_"I trust you,"_ Derek said simply. _"A little after the pool, but more later. When I couldn't trust anyone else, I realized I could trust you. No, that's too simple. I realized I did trust you. You might yell at me, you might argue. But you wouldn't use me against me. You wouldn't hurt me except with the truth."_

_"Did I hurt you tonight, by what I said?"_ Stiles asked.

_"No,"_ Derek said. _"I don't know how I feel about it yet. I need to get my head clear. But it's not a never, just a not now."_

_"I can wait,"_ Stiles said. _"Until you know. I don't think my feelings will change."_

And they hadn't changed. Not then, not a month later when Kate showed back up and took Derek. Not during the deadpool. There were moments during the events in Mexico, when they'd look at each other and Stiles had grown even more certain of his feelings in fact. And he could tell that Derek knew what was still in his head and his heart.

But it wasn't until after Derek evolved, and he left to find out what it all meant. Why his powers had faded only to come back. And while he was gone they had talked, and they had texted. That was when things really changed. It was rare, after that, when Derek wasn't the most recent text on his phone.

They'd talked about Derek and Braeden's on and off friends with benefits relationship, and knew she knew about Derek's feelings for Stiles. Derek had offered to end it, even though he and Stiles weren't ready to move forward. But Stiles recognized that the friendship was good for Derek in some way he didn't quite understand, so he'd just shook his head and said no. 

The summer after junior year Derek had returned for a month and they'd had several long honest talks, and a few maybe dates. He was honest with Derek in ways he'd never been with anyone. About his doubts and worries, and about his hopes for the future. Derek in turn opened up about his own doubts and feelings. Admitted he'd had several long talks with Stiles' father about his past, and his growing feelings about Stiles, which led to Stiles also having several long uncomfortable conversations with his father.

And therapy of course. So much therapy.

First with Morrell, who they both started to see more seriously after the Alpha Pack, and who had proven to be a more complicated ally then they'd ever imagined. Her vision of the balance the druids sought to preserve was one both Stiles and Derek were more comfortable with than the one her brother saw, and she understood both the human and werewolf psyches and could help both of them work through their many separate issues, even when Derek was out of town physically.

Then Derek had left for South America to spend time with Cora during Stiles' senior year. Trying to take another shot at building a relationship with the sister he had left.

Their conversations got longer. Their texting grew more suggestive. 

Then Tony Stark had gone missing less than a month into his senior year and upended Stiles' world for the fifth or sixth time, depending on how you counted. 

So here he was with Derek. 

And Derek was here with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy end of 2020!  
> As a reward for surviving this hell year I’m trying to push out chapters for all my major WIPs. So enjoy! 
> 
> And kudos and comments are appreciated, always.


	8. Chapter 8

Friday

Exhausted after the intensity of trying to learn twenty years of information in a day, Stiles wanted to curl up and not move until the next day. But he had more still to do, trying to break down the mystery of the not really missing Tony Stark and what kind of danger he was in, so he took Derek back to the outer lab and shut the door. Then he had JARVIS pull up the holographic murderboard he'd begun to piece together of everything he knew. 

It wasn't very much. 

He'd managed to nail down some things by what JARVIS had been forbidden to tell him. SHIELD knew what was going on, or at least the agents at the top. Steve knew. They didn't think Stiles was in danger (though Stiles knew from bitter experience how wrong that presumption could be.) They wanted him kept to the Tower. Which implied the Tower, or at least the highest floors, were not the target, though they'd left him Captain America for a bodyguard, so they weren't quite sure. 

He noticed Derek smile down at his phone for the fifth or sixth time in less than ten minutes, before the man shot off a quick response text. He knew not many people could put that kind of smile on the man's face, but assumed it was likely Cora, who'd been texting fairly frequently, trying to guess what was going on that Stiles had needed Derek so suddenly and urgently.

She'd tried to text Stiles once to ask, but he'd just shot back a couple of photos of different banks and said, 'Which do you think Derek would find it easier to bust through the vault of?' and she hadn't replied except for a middle finger emoji.

Stiles stared at the holograph, wondering what was coming, and his mind started to wander. He looked down at the floor where one part of the projector was, and then up at the ceiling where the second part was embedded. 

He looked at the holographic projection itself again. 

"JARVIS?" he asked the AI.

"Yes, Stiles?"

Derek looked up sharply, not saying anything, but he tensed, probably recognizing something in Stiles's voice, or possibly his scent.

"How close to perfect can you get a holographic projection? Like, if you needed the image of Tony Stark, how close to accurate could you get?"

"My holographic projections are accurate down to the hundreths of a millimeter." The murderboard vanished and suddenly Tony Stark was there, as if in the flesh. Derek tensed again when the man appeared, but only for a moment, then he stepped forward to look at it closer. 

"Whoa," Stiles said, his mind racing, a plan spinning itself into place, then a moment later the obvious limitation hit him. 

"How many pairs of those projectors do you have around here?" 

"There's the three sets built into this lab, plus six built into the lab he shares with Dr Banner, plus two more in Mr Stark’s level."

"No, I mean like, how many extras are around here that could be installed?" 

"Currently I have two extras of each in stores, but more can be assembled at a rate of one every 17 and a half minutes. I have enough processors and microlasers on hand to make 153 pairs." 

"How hard would it be to install them throughout the upper floors of the tower?" Stiles said. "Like, as a distraction if someone decided to break in here?"

"Can you make the projection bleed into the infrared?" Derek asked, his eyes narrowing. 

"With a slight modification," JARVIS said, "And with very little effort. Stiles, I think I understand what you're thinking." 

"Good," Stiles said. "Can you start putting them together? Do you need hands?" 

"I do not," JARVIS said, "I have four functional body assemblies I can put to work making them, and they can install the holographic projectors as well, once you let me know how you'd like them deployed." 

Stiles looked at Derek. "What do you think? Deploy them broadly in case they're needed somewhere else, or deploy them narrowly as a last defense?"

Derek looked thoughtful for a moment, which was hands down one of Stiles's favorite expressions. He didn't know how he'd missed the vast number of small shifts Derek's face had. Maybe just that he always looked so angry, the small shifts weren't noticeable until you knew him better. 

To be fair, Derek had been pretty angry most of the time when they first met.

"Let's start narrowly. This level and Steve's level. The places we're most likely to be. Deploy them for maximum coverage. Then, if we can, put some basic coverage elsewhere through the tower." 

Stiles thought for a moment, "Except that central stairwell out there," Stiles added, pointing towards the central shaft of the tower. "It must cover what, four floors? Make sure that's covered. If someone's planning to come into the residential parts, that's the place we'll be most vulnerable." 

"I can produce a more powerful holographic array to cover the central stairwell," JARVIS replied, “but it will change the number of available holographic pairs for deployment elsewhere to 104 pairs, though it will shorten the overall build time by a significant amount." 

"Okay," Stiles said, "Do it." 

Derek made a noise as his phone vibrated again, and Stiles looked at him. The man looked slightly guilty. 

"Derek?" he said. 

Derek didn't flinch, but it was a near thing. "There's something else," he said after a moment. "An Uber is going to drop someone off in a minute. We were trying to surprise you." 

"Is this a good surprise or a bad surprise?" Stiles asked.

"A good one, I thought." 

Panic hit Stiles. "It's not my dad is it?" he said terrified, "I don't want my dad anywhere near this until we know what this is." 

"No, Stiles, I would never have brought your dad into this," Derek said, and Stiles relaxed. "Okay, good, yeah." Then a thought occurred to him, "It's not Peter is it? He might be useful, he's good at thinking sneaky." 

"No," Derek said, taking his phone out and sending a quick text reply, "He and Malia are still hiking through whatever national park they’re at this week." 

"Yosemite," Stiles said absently, "I think. Malia said their reception was going to be really bad." 

"It's Lydia," Derek said. "She left after lunch, since she's only taking a part day this semester. That was her texting she's a block away." 

"Oh," Stiles said. "Okay, Lydia would be good too." 

"Less sneaky." 

"More intelligent." 

"Don't tell Peter." 

"I'm sure he knows." 

"Still, don't say it to him," Derek said with a smile.

"Fair point." Stiles said. "Okay. Let's hold off on deployment until Lydia's here, just in case she has a better plan, but can you start building them?" he asked JARVIS. 

"I've already begun." JARVIS replied. 

"Oh okay, good." Stiles added, "Thank you." 

JARVIS didn't reply. 

He looked at Derek, "Shall we go meet Lydia?"

"Absolutely not," Derek said, rolling his eyes. "I'll go meet Lydia. You'll stay 70 floors up in the sky while we know there's something going on." 

"Rude," Stiles said as Derek walked away, though it was said fondly. He knew Derek wouldn't stop him from doing anything dangerous, but he would keep him out of needless potential danger if he could. 

***

Lydia was slightly annoyed that she didn't get to surprise Stiles like she had planned, but once he explained what was going on, she got over it instantly.

"So he dropped this onto you, why?" she asked. "If it's so dangerous."

"I don't know that it's dangerous," Stiles said. "I assume it's dangerous, since most everything that happens to us is dangerous. It's like I have a Pavlovian response to assume danger every time something shady happens." 

"It's a reasonable assumption," Lydia replied. "Usually it's true." 

"I'm not actually sure if it's that it's dangerous, or they're setting a trap," Stiles said. "I think with Thor involved I'm starting to think they're setting a trap. And it may not be here. But they set Captain America as my bodyguard, and that sort of screams 'danger' to me." 

"Or an excess of caution," Derek added. 

"Well, then I am just being excessively cautious-er," Stiles said, "And we can use the holographic interface to put on a fireworks display or something." 

"I'm not sure I understand the point of the holographics everywhere." Lydia said. 

"Defense," Stiles said. "JARVIS?" 

The AI let the image of Iron Man jump into being, hyperrealistic and suddenly just there, and the faceplate retracted before a voice spoke, and Stiles realized it was shifted so it looked like Tony was speaking, "Ms Martin, I can create any simulation you might wish." A moment later Tony was replaced by an astonishing likeness of the President, "Perhaps," and the voice was spot on, "the President can impress you more." The holograph shifted again, this time to be an exact replica of Lydia herself, "Or maybe," and it even had her intonation down perfectly, "this is more interesting to you." 

"A decoy," Lydia said approvingly. 

"More," Stiles said, "Imagine if you broke in here thinking Iron Man is missing, and ran into exactly who you're hoping to avoid." 

Lydia nodded. "Of course. I was thinking of a more practical defense, but that's very very good." 

Stiles had another idea, "Actually," he said, "JARVIS, how well could one of these disguise someone? I know you couldn't make us invisible, but if I was standing against a wall, could you disguise me?" 

"That's an interesting idea," JARVIS said, "I think that yes, I could mask your appearance so you blended into the background. It wouldn't be perfect, but it might be a good way to hide in an emergency." 

"Okay," Stiles said. "So let’s play around with that." 

They spent some time experimenting, and it never worked to Derek's satisfaction, since he said Stiles was still very obvious to his werewolf sight, and nothing could hide his appearance in infrared, but Stiles thought it might be another good option for defense to keep in mind. 

****

The next part of the plan ended up coming to them. 

Well, the plan had been to confront Steve after dinner. But he came to the outer lab about an hour after Lydia had arrived. 

"Ms Martin, I'm very pleased to meet you," Steve said, shaking her hand, and Stiles was impressed with how modern the greeting sounded from the Captain. 

"It's a pleasure, Captain Rogers," Lydia replied. "Stiles was just telling me about meeting you awhile ago." 

"He's been holding up well," Steve said, "Not having known any of this. The executive board were all quite impressed with him." 

"Even Warren?" Stiles asked. 

"Especially Warren," Steve replied. "Don't let the, you know, everything about him, don't let it fool you. Warren is brilliant at what he does."

"What does he do exactly?" Stiles asked. "And why is the heir to his own fortune working for Stark?" 

"Tony could probably explain it better," Steve said, "But Warren understands how money moves. How to make a dollar do the work of ten. How to make a complex series of businesses work as a whole." 

"And he works for Stark because?" Stiles asked.

Steve glanced at Lydia and Derek for a moment before he said, "Because he's an ally of the Avengers, and Stark Enterprises is the Avengers in some ways." 

"That's what I said," Stiles replied, "And he told me I was wrong." 

"It's not completely accurate," Steve replied, "But it's not wrong either. It's a very very complicated situation I don't fully understand." 

"Fair enough," Stiles said. 

Lydia glanced at him, and he realized she wanted him to pull the trigger now for some reason, and like always, he trusted her judgement.

"While you're here Steve," Stiles said to the man, "I wanted to show you something." He turned back to where the holographic projectors were and said, "JARVIS, can you bring it back up?" 

JARVIS did so without comment, and Stiles watched Steve's eyes as the man quickly looked over the holographic murderboard of Stark's disappearance.

"I am pretty confident I'm not smarter than the entirety of SHIELD," Stiles said, "So if their search is being interfered with, it's coming from someone very high up." 

"Did JARVIS help you with this?" Steve asked.

"Only around the prohibitions Stark put in place," Stiles said. "What I want to know is how much danger have you all put me in?" 

Steve was silent for a moment, and Stiles gave him the space to think things through for himself.

"I don't think you're in any danger," Steve said. "We're not completely sure what they want, just that there have been a series of attempts to get Tony and Pepper both out of Avengers Tower for extended periods of time."

"Do you know who it is?" 

"Not completely," Steve said, "But it appears to be a faction of HYDRA.Though they may be another group trying to masquerade as HYDRA, or even HYDRA trying to masquerade as another group trying to masquerade as HYDRA."

"I'm assuming they're after Iron Man tech?" Stiles said.

"Yes, though Tony is certain that it's all securely locked up." 

"So they're going to come to the Tower," Derek said. "That's why you're here." 

"No," Steve said. "I'm the last line of defense. SHIELD has a presence here, and there are other protections in place nearby." 

Stiles thought of Moon Knight, and wondered if he was involved in after dark protection. 

"Well, I hope you don't mind that I'm adding a few defenses of my own. And by 'hope you don't mind' I really mean, 'fuck you for using me as a decoy without warning asshole.’" Stiles said heatedly. 

Steve's face grew stoney and he gave a curt nod as Stiles pulled up the schematics for the top of the Tower and where the holographic projectors would be installed and how they'd be used to distract and delay.

"I'd like to put one here—" he said, indicating a part of Steve's floor near his kitchen, "in case they come and we're on your floor. Last resort JARVIS can use the projector to camouflage us from sight if we don't move."

Steve looked at the schematics and nodded, "And JARVIS has enough of these projectors to do this?" 

"He's building them in the lower labs now. Using the JARVIS bots to put them together," Stiles said. 

Steve replied, "That's a really clever idea."

"I wish it wasn't necessary," Stiles said, "And more, I wish I'd been informed." He shook his head, "It wouldn't have changed my mind about coming, but I would have been able to be more prepared. At least one more werewolf I think." 

"Werewolves," Steve said, shaking his head, then glanced at Lydia, "Are you a werewolf too?" 

"No," Lydia answered, "But I'm a banshee." 

Steve stilled, and then turned to Stiles who shrugged, "I'm surrounded by special people," he said. 

"It must be a family thing," Steve replied, and Stiles wondered if that might be true. If maybe this might be some small way he was like Tony Stark. It gave him a small bit of hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here’s you have the end of the middle and now everything is in place for the ending. 
> 
> The next few chapters are already partially drafted though I need to do some heavy editing to match up with the slight drift from the original outline. 
> 
> I hope you’re enjoying it, comments and kudos are life of course.


	9. Chapter 9

Saturday

The light streaming in through the windows on Saturday morning woke Stiles with a groan. They'd all worked late into the night with the JARVIS bots to place the mounts for the holographic projectors where they needed to go, and he felt a real thrill poking a hundred holes in Tony Stark's walls and floors as needed. When they were done Steve had made pizza from scratch, which had been amazing, and enough to soften some of Stiles' sense of betrayal somewhat, but it hadn't even put a dent in Derek's anger at the man. 

He wasn't sure if it was just because he needed the extra day and he'd gotten used to things not working out, or if it was something else, but all of his instincts were telling him that today was the day, and he wondered what was coming. 

He got out of bed and stretched a little before getting dressed, then wandered out to the kitchen, he noticed along the way the projector had actually been installed in the little nook off the kitchen where Steve's table was set up, and made a note to test it later.

"The projectors in the main stairwell are in too." Steve said from the kitchen, "and the JARVIS bots are getting the rest installed on schedule." 

"I love AIs." Stiles said. 

"Thank you Stiles." JARVIS said from overhead. 

"Anytime Skynet." Stiles answered as he took the plate from Steve with a thank you.

"I wanted to talk to you." Steve said, and Stiles nodded as he heard a door open down the hall. 

"About why I agreed to Tony's plan." 

"I'm listening." Stiles said. 

"I'm not here to protect Stark's suits." Steve said, "I'm here to protect you. It was the only way I'd let them put you in danger like that." 

"I appreciate that." Stiles said, "but you get why I'm pissed right?" 

"We didn't have a lot to work with when it came to what you were like." Steve said, "the information we had made you seem hot headed and impulsive, with a pretty big issue with authority." 

"I mean my dad is literally the embodiment of 'The Man'," Stiles replied, "so some anti-authoritarianism was bound to show up. and yeah, I can see your point, but it doesn't change what you did either."

Steve nodded. "I just wanted to clear the air about my place in this. This is Stark's call. My call was to be here and have your back." 

Stiles nodded and glanced over and Derek came down the hall and gave him a long look. So Derek felt today was the day too. It felt good to have his feelings confirmed. 

Derek was almost finished with his breakfast when Lydia came out of her room. Stiles who knew Lydia recognized the banshee wearing jeans and tshirt as the surest sign she also expected that today was the day. 

When the meal was done, Stiles and Derek cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher together, and then they all sat down and Steve went through the defenses of the upper tower point by point, from the nearly unbreakable glass to JARVIS's ability to seal the stairwells and elevators. 

"The protections on the labs I'm unaware of, Stark built those himself, but they're supposed to be nearly impossible to breach, and the suits are supposed to be completely protected." 

"Why are you so sure it's the suits they want?" Lydia asked. 

"It's the most likely objective." Steve said, "HYDRA has tried to get access to the Iron Man tech before." 

"But you don't actually know that's what they want." Lydia said. "That's just the assumption, not intel." 

"Yes." Steve said. 

Lydia nodded thoughtfully. 

What are you thinking Lydia?" Stiles asked.

"Nothing specific." Lydia said, "But I-" she hesitated, "the assumption bothered me." 

"It's a good point." Steve said leaning back, "Tony was certain so I assumed he was right, but there are other things in the Tower worth accessing. But our focus is on staying safe. There's SHIELD agents and meta-natural back-up deployed around us, my priority is the three of you." 

"I can take care of myself." Derek answered, clearly still pissed. 

"Right, but you also don't need to worry about Stark's problems." Steve said. 

"I had some ideas while I was laying in bed last night." Stiles said, "So I'm going back to the lab for a bit." 

"I'll come with you." Lydia said, "I want to dig into the limits of what JARVIS can do." she sounded very intrigued. 

"I've got some paperwork I need to take care of while there's not anything going on." Derek said, "I can do it from the labs too, I just need access to a printer." 

"I've got some things to check over, and I want to see exactly how realistic the holograms look in practice and work out some techniques with JARVIS." Steve said. 

Stiles and Lydia headed toward the labs while Derek went back to his room to grab his laptop so he could deal with his mysterious paperwork that Stiles assumed had to do with the unending headache that was his loft building and the tenants.

Stiles and Lydia took over separate workstations far enough apart that their conversations with the AI wouldn't interrupt each other, and Stiles started working on the idea that had hit him the night before. 

A sonic screwdriver.

"Well, not exactly." he told JARVIS as he was describing what he wanted. "More like a portable sonic and hologram projector."

"I see." JARVIS replied as Stiles started sketching out what he had in mind, and the AI made added recommendations including voice response and then they started working on how to miniaturize it and make it all work together. 

"There's some interesting alternate applications." JARVIS added. 

"No sharing with Stark." Stiles said. 

"Your designs are based in Starktech." JARVIS replied.

"Hey, if I don't get Iron Man armor he doesn't get a sonic screwdriver." Stiles replied. 

"It will take around an hour to fabricate this without disrupting the bots." the AI said, "Is that okay?" 

"It's fine." Stiles said. "This is mostly just for fun. And if you can, make two, or Lydia will be mad at me for not sharing." 

"Confirmed," the AI replied.

"Thanks Skynet." Stiles said, patting the console fondly. 

He switched over to accessing as much information as he could about the New York based heroes. It was interesting whose files were most redacted, which gave an interesting overview in who Tony expected Stiles to be aware of. 

When he was done with that he started making a list of which 'close ally' of the Avengers Warren Worthington might be. He started by going through the long list of potentials and eliminating some, like Moon Knight (who he already knew wasn't Warren) and the Fantastic Four because their identities were public already. Then he started eliminating some that were active too long before Warren was born, and ranking the remaining heroes in an order of likelihood based on things like physical characteristics (it was unlikely he was Spider-Woman for example, but he wasn't ready to eliminate the women completely in case he was a metamorph of some kind. Stiles' best friend was four inches taller and far hairier when he transformed after all.)

The likeliest he decided was Archangel, who was similar in height, and had first been active as Angel before one of Doom's robots had sheared his original wings off with a laser weapon of some kind. He was tempted to ask JARVIS for a laser weapon in his screwdriver, but then decided taking inspiration from the Doombots was a bad idea. 

Then he decided screw it, and asked JARVIS for a laser weapon anyway, which resulted in a redesign of the whole screwdriver to accommodate it. 

"You'll only have a very limited amount of power per charge." JARVIS explained, "The holographic imaging and sonic capability are already strong battery drains, but they're nothing compared to the laser capability. You'll have at max capacity three good shots with it, and that's with the added length for the battery, and it'll be effective only at short range, the laser blast will weaken past eleven or twelve feet depending on conditions."

"Three shots should be enough." Stiles said, "and short range is best. Tony would probably use the opening to throw me out if I shattered one of his windows." 

"The windows are laser proof from outside, but not inside." JARVIS said, "though even at close range this laser would not be enough to shatter one." 

"Excellent." Stiles said, and approved the design and went back to studying the dossiers of the non-exec board members in alphabetical order. 

He was to Mark Waters when one of the JARVIS bots brought the first sonic screwdriver to him on it's way to install the latest projectors, and Derek took a break from the hundreds of pages of paperwork he was making his way through to listen as Stiles walked Lydia through the workings of the tool.

"You're ridiculous," Derek said fondly, "but I'm glad you've got more protection, just in case." Then he went back to the pile of paperwork he was making his way through, and Lydia started making suggestions that could be added to the second generation of the screwdriver, and he realized he should have included her in the initial design.

\---------

It was just after the sun had set, they'd retreated back to Steve's apartment, and Stiles had started to think he and Derek were wrong about Saturday being the day. Steve had gone to check in with the SHIELD agents below, when Stiles felt a shudder go through the building, and he stumbled back against the wall. JARVIS responded before he could even ask with, "It appears that SHIELD was watching the wrong direction, our unwelcome guests are coming in from above. Captain Rogers is already heading up through the lift to engage with them now." 

"You know what to do with the generators." Stiles said, as he grabbed the sonic screwdriver off of the counter and jabbed it into his pocket, and said, "and evacuate the air and seal the inner lab, engage all your safety protocols besides the final solution." 

"Confirmed." JARVIS said just as Lydia came around the corner. "It also appears that some of the SHIELD agents are compromised, four of them are eliminating the remaining agents now. Though one of them was able to get a call for backup placed." 

A familiar shiver of anticipation stretched through him, altering his perceptions slightly. It was an old feeling he know well; that dilation of time during a stressful emergency. He knew those five minutes might stretch to feel like an eternity, or pass in a flash. 

"Shit." Stiles said. "Where's Derek?" 

"He's headed up the emergency staircase towards the roof where the main force has come in." JARVIS said, and flashed on Steve's TV with a series of scenes of the intruders and Steve and Derek.

"What are they shooting at Steve?" Stiles said.

"They appear to be some kind of electricity based weapon." JARVIS said, "

"Warn Derek before he gets there." Stiles said, "Werewolves don't do well with electricity. What about Steve, can his suit stop that?" Stiles said.

"Possibly." JAVIS said, "His suits are made by SHIELD, which it seems has been compromised, at least in part." 

"Great." Stiles said, and turned to Lydia who was watching the screen intently.

"Do you have an external feed?" Lydia said, "What are they coming in from?" 

"No," JARVIS said, "They took out my external feed on that side, but it appears to have been a team dropped from elevation and using modified repulsors to navigate." 

"What about the team that took out the SHIELD agents?" Stiles said. "What are they doing?" 

"They're making their way to the lower labs as we speak." JARVIS said, "I've already locked everything down, and sealed the inner labs." JARVIS pulled up a screen on the TV that showed the agents. 

"What is that guy doing?" Stiles said, pointing at a man with a bulky pack over his shoulder.

"Trying to access the Quinjet landing pad." JARVIS said, "It would take-" 

The man pulled out a laser canon from his bag. 

"That will do it." the AI said. 

"They're very prepared." Stiles said. How long until backup arrives?" 

"ETA is five minutes, but-" JARVIS was interrupted by the shattering of one of Stark's unbreakable glass exterior windows a few floors below.

"Which floor was that?" Stiles asked. 

"The 71st." JARVIS said, we have a third team arriving now." 

"Fuck, the lab." Stiles said. "We may not have five minutes." 

"So far no one is headed your direction." the AI reported. 

"Great news," Stiles muttered, then winced as he saw one of the electricity rounds connect with Steve and a pop as it blew through his suit and then the instant the round discharged into the super-soldier.

Derek, who'd just reached the floor they'd come in on and let out a roar of rage, and the agents turned their attention to him. 

"So dramatic." Stiles muttered, watching him carefully and glancing back to the other feeds regularly. I suppose there's no holographic projectors up there yet." Stiles said. 

"No, that wasn't one of the floors that seemed at risk." the AI said. There's nothing above the 82nd floor." 

"Right." Stiles said, beating himself up a bit. 

There are two teams headed your way from the 71st." JARVIS said, "They seem to be searching the tower rapidly floor by floor, I'm holding off on the projectors for now until they seem like more than a distraction."

"I trust you to know the right time JARVIS." Stiles said. "And Stark needs to consider a safe room in this place for next time. These guys know his defenses a little too well. Does it look like these guys are equipped with anything that will affect the hologram's ability to hide us?" 

"Nothing I've seen yet." JARVIS replied, but some of their tech is still not in use." 

"Okay." Stiles said. 

"Let us know when one of the teams is close enough we should hide." Lydia said. 

"Of course." JARVIS said as on the screen the large team on 71 was trying to get access to the outer lab. JARVIS, he knew, was using the lab's holographic projector to conceal the door to the inner lab as added protection.

"The first team is coming up from the 77th floor now." JARVIS said, "I'm cutting the TV feed, and you should get ready." 

Lydia and Stiles headed for the dining nook, to where Steve and Derek had determined they were most likely to be overlooked. 

The projector started it's work and Stiles resisted the urge to hold his breath, but instead concentrated on short regular breaths that would be easier for the AI to mask. Above him he heard another roar of rage from Derek, followed by a loud boom from below. He hated being cut off, and decided he was going to demand some kind of armor from his stupid uncle as compensation just so he'd be able to keep track of what was going on next time. And to fly. He wanted to fly too. Just not too high. He concentrated on what he wanted on his hypothetical suit as the agents quickly searched the place, all completely bypassing the dining room after a glance, just as Steve has said. 

The girl who seemed to be in charge had called clear when it happened. 

To be completely fair, he didn't even realize he'd been toying with the sonic screwdriver in his pocket as he hid, too preoccupied thinking about his hypothetical super suit and how high he was comfortable flying (not very high he’d decided).

It clattered to the floor, and he froze for a moment, before everything he knew spurred him into action. He knew the projectors weren't perfect, and that if they looked he would be found, and more, so would Lydia. So he dove for the screwdriver and cursed his own stupidity at the same time, and then slid under the table to the other side to distract the agents more. 

"What was that?" he heard one of the agents say, and he slipped to the hallway and glanced around the corner.

Two of the agents were already headed back, and he held up a hand to where he knew Lydia was, fingers all extended. He was pretty sure there were five agents in the group. 

He used the sonics on the first guy. A short intense burst that would scramble anyone's brain for a moment, and stepped out as the other agents started alerting the others to their presence. He used the sonics a second time on the second agent, and then stepped forward and smashed his hand into the first agent's face while he was still reeling from the sonic blast at short range, then grabbed for the man's gun as he started to shake it off and fired at the other agent, which hit flesh in the arm, but wasn't going to do serious damage, as the agent finally started to fight him. 

He kept the agent between him and the others to buy time, and pushed the guy back a bit which caused him to bump into the second agent. 

He knew backup had to be close, more than five minutes had passed, and he heard another boom below him. He used the sonics on the agent again as the man started to move toward him, and he twisted to the side to move past him towards the living room. 

The second agent took a dose of the sonics at extremely close range, and as JARVIS had said, she went down for the count.

"Fuck," he heard one of the agents say as he slipped into the living room, "it's the Stark kid." 

So they knew about him, he filed away, knowing that there was a limited number of agents who'd seen him.

"The girl must be here too." one of the other agents said, and Stiles ducked behind the sofa, praying the agents had orders to keep him alive instead of kill him.

There was a moment when the agents had taken defensive positions and he was behind the edge of the couch, before the agent he thought might be the leader lifted her head out from the doorway to the entry area, out of effective sonic range, and probably not effective for the laser either. 

He definitely wanted stronger lasers in his super suit too. 

"I would rather not hurt you,” she said, “but I will if I have to, so just help us get what we came for kid.” 

“Oh my God, don't talk like a villain.” Stiles snapped. “I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised since you clearly shop at One Stop Evil Minions Gear and Supply. But please no monologuing. Just tell me what you want.” 

“You’ve got quite an attitude for someone with four guns pointed at you.” The first agent said loudly from the hallway, his voice low and threatening and clearly pissed as hell, but Stiles was less than impressed since he was far less terrifying than Derek had been when he’d threatened to rip his throat out with his teeth, which hadn't really scared Stiles either.

“Shut up minion two, let your boss talk." he snapped, and looked back at the leader, "Okay, so you want something or you’ll kill me. So talk. And hopefully it’s not the Iron Man suit since it was with Tony when the plane disappeared.” 

“I’m looking forward to-“ the first agent said, and Stiles told him to shut up again, "God, I've been beaten up by a septuagenarian more scary than you." he said derisively. 

Stiles tuned him out to try to think out an escape plan, but one of the other agents was shifting his position which grabbed his attention. 

“Four minions for little ole me?” Stiles said, to let Lydia know how many agents there were, “I had no idea I was so terrifying.” 

“I’m rethinking the ‘not wanting to hurt you’.” The leader said. “But there’s something here far more valuable than Stark’s stupid suit and I promise you’ll be safe if you help us get it.”

Stiles heard a slight noise from the hall behind the first agent, and saw a fierce resolve in Lydia’s eyes as she stepped into the hallway from the safety of the dining nook, and opened her mouth as a scream poured forth that was nothing like the ones he’d heard from her before. It had an almost weight to it, and she raised her hands and shaped it as she’d been learning to do. He wasn’t even a little surprised when it lifted and pushed the first agent through the living room wall with it's force, and then turned towards the three agents in the entryway and changed the orientation of her scream towards them. Stiles dove for the first agent's gun which had hit the floor, and picked it up and rolled towards the entry, pointing it towards where the agents had been. but they were gone, and so was the wall where the doorway to Steve's apartment had been.

“Nice save Lyds.” He said, his head still ringing. “Thanks.” 

“Are you okay?” She asked.

“Yeah, just, you know, ringing sounds in my ears for some reason." 

"You're an idiot." she said shaking her head, "but Derek would have killed me if something happened to you. And you need to learn how to interrogate.” She said pushing her hair back behind her ear. “Now we still don’t know what they want.” 

“Sure we do.” He said. “There’s only one thing in the tower more valuable than the Iron Man suit, isn’t that right JARVIS.” 

“I believe you’re correct Stiles.” JARVIS said. "Piecing it together what I've heard, it does seem to suggest it is likely to be me they're after.” 

Stiles nodded. “This is why that asshole ran off to Asgard," JARVIS in the hands of Stark is bad enough, in the hands of HYDRA it would be a catastrophe." 

“That makes more sense than the armor." Lydia said, "I knew that was strange. I'm so annoyed, I came here to go shopping, Stiles, not deal with Stark's mess.” 

“Sorry Lyds.” He said. “JARVIS,do you have eyes on where Derek is? And Steve?”

“Captain Rogers seems to have recovered from the first blast, and Mr Hale is still helping hold them off. More urgently, the agents on 71 have found the entrance to the inner labs and are trying to get access, through the vacuum seals are still holding for now." 

"Any sign of our backup, or Stark?" he said. 

"My external sensors are all down," JARVIS said, but from social media and telecom data from people watching and recording I'm putting together a fragmented picture of what's going on. There is a major deployment of HYDRA agents in the area, and SHIELD is working to deal with them. I do have reports that the Fantastic Four are headed this way, and Spider-Man is definitely in the mix as well." 

"Awesome." Stiles said enthusiastically, "I love that guy." 

"The bad news is none of the backup is here yet." 

"Then I think it's time to deploy the Phantom Menace then." Stiles said. "We need to buy time for whoever we're waiting for, the slow rollout," he added, let's confuse them as long as we can." 

"Be aware, the second team of agents is nearly there." JARVIS said. 

"I think we've got this." Stiles said, looking at Lydia who had her fierce and angry face on as they moved as one towards the hole where Steve's front door used to be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! 
> 
> I’ve been hammering away at Out of the Ashes until I got to chapter 9 which has been going like molasses, so I’ve been breaking up the writing by finishing up the last few chapters of Iron Man, and now 9 is done! 
> 
> Enjoy! Comments and kudos are life, of course, and feel free to drop any questions in there as well.


End file.
